Lovebones
by GuardianAngel1234567
Summary: Just a few one-shots featuring two of my favorite undead Beings in the series.
1. Through My Enemy's Eyes

**Yeah. Some of these scenes I'm hoping will happen in future episodes.**

 **HOPEFULLY, the first one would REALLY happen.**

 **Also, take note that I might skip some scenes.**

* * *

 _When you're stressed, you relieve yourself by fighting._

 _And boy! Was the Evil Queen of the Undead_ _ **really**_ _stressed! And_ _ **angry!**_

She blasted everyone of her spectral minions. Most of them tried to flee, but they couldn't escape their queen's wrath.

 _Curse those Mysticon Brats!_ Just as she was gaining the upper-hand in getting her gems back from them, _they...! Ugh! She doesn't even want to think about_ _ **IT!**_

When she finally blasted her last minion, she collapsed on her throne. _And she's still stressed out._

 _She doesn't understand; A fight like that would have relieved her._ _ **Every time.**_

 _Of course, the last time she and Dreadbane..._

 _Sigh. Dreadbane. Why couldn't he had freed her sooner?_

"Leave me." Necrafa commanded her specters.

She waited until all of them left the room. When she sensed that no one was around, she began to cast her spell inside the room;

Red energy scattered around the room. Some of it gathered in order to transform into a holographic projection of Dreadbane facing the portal from where he freed Necrafa.

" _I failed._ " The hologram spoke, " _I was so close to freeing you, my Queen. So that we can be together again!_ _ **Curse you Mysticons! Curse your bones!**_ "

 _If only you knew how I longed to see you too._ Hesitantly, Necrafa caused the hologram to disappear.

 _"Dark Magic!"_

 _"Seize her!"_

 _"Nessira!_ "

Necrafa suppressed those _hurtful_ memories. She thought back to those _torturous_ years, trapped within the dark realm, waiting for her most loyal general to set her free. It took her years to reach him, to finally connect with him. And what did he do in return?

 _He took longer than she expected to set her free._

 _It was like, he didn't want her back. That, and he wanted to_ _ **permanently**_ _replace her as Ruler of the Spectral Hand._

 _And to think he wasn't like the_ _ **others.**_ _The ones who unjustly drove her away._

And still; She found herself... _missing,_ him.

Necrafa shook that feeling off of her. _He deserved to suffer in that cursed realm where she will never,_ _ **ever**_ _see his pathetic face_ _ **EVER**_ _again!_

 _Even if he was a powerful sparring partner. And a good listener. And someone who can be reasonable with her._

 _Enough of that. She has a plan to formulate. Alone..._

* * *

 _How did theses pests even get here in the first place?_

She just left the throne-room for a minute, and when she returned, she finds an Astromancer, a Cyclops, and the quivering gumlump, who she retrieved her gem from, sneaking around. They tried to flee, but she managed to restrain them with her magic.

She barely even thought of a punishment when one of the boys began to cry about his ex-girlfriend.

" _Lateensia!_ " Gawayne wept in Doug's arms, " _I'm sorry you couldn't love me any longer!_ "

" _Love._ " Necrafa scoffs, " _Let me tell you foolish boys a thing or two about,_ _ **love.**_ "

* * *

 _2 hours later..._

" _Oh! And don't get me started on that pitiful look on his eyes._ " Necrafa went on as she sat on her throne while her three prisoners attempted to escape her magical restraints.

 _Girls, where are you?! Just how_ _ **long**_ _do they have to listen to her failed relationship?!_

" _Alright Lady! We get it!_ " Gawayne cried after having enough, " _You're still in love with him!_ "

Necrafa shot up from her throne in a mix of shock and disbelief, " _ **WHAT?!**_ "

" _You've been complaining non-stop about your so-called 'failure-of-a-man', when all you've been doing is_ _ **boring us to death**_ _with the fact, that you actually_ _ **MISS HIM!**_ " Gawayne snapped.

Necrafa was caught by surprise. _No one has ever snapped at her like_ _ **that**_ _before. Except the Original Mysticons._

But seriously; _Has she been talking about_ _ **Dreadbane**_ _all these times?_

As Doug comforted a tired Gawayne, Malvaron spoke, "Yeah. I'm with him. So the guy forgot about you for a _thousand_ years, but did you have to toss him away like trash?"

"Yes. Yes I did." Necrafa turned her back on them so that they couldn't see the sadness in her eyes, "So long have I waited to be with him again, and he kept me _waiting. It's, as if, he completely_ _ **forgotten**_ _about me._ "

"Oh come on! Its not like he moved on with another girl when you're away." Malvaron pointed out.

" _At least he_ _ **never**_ _stop thinking about you!_ " Gawayne cried.

"He did keep his promise." Necrafa mused, remembering the day she was finally free, " _Still..._ "

"Oh come on. Don't you miss hanging out with him? Don't you miss his voice?" Doug asked.

"He always did know what to say to me." Necrafa reminisced.

"Or his eyes?" Doug went on.

"They always burn with fire." Necrafa sighed.

"Or the way he touches you, making you forget the flaws of the unfair world that makes you go ' _boom_ '?"

"He always did have that effect on me."

"And just the thought of him, being with you..."

This time, Necrafa didn't reply. She was too busy thinking about Dreadbane. _He was the only one who kept her sanity in check._

"Uh, I hate to interrupt, whatever you guys are doing," Malvaron snapped her out of her thoughts, "but where's Dreadbane?"

* * *

Ear-piercing screams echoed from within the Spectral Hand's Lair. They travelled far, almost reaching throughout the entire realm.

* * *

Necrafa waited impatiently for her three prisoners to stop screaming. _Why did she even listen to their foolish notion on love?_

When the boys stopped to catch their breathes, she asked, "Are you d...?!"

The boys interrupted her with another round of screams. This time, it lasted only for a few shorter minutes.

" _Dreadbane?! Seriously?!_ " Malvaron exclaimed with disgust.

" _Dump him! Dump him really bad!_ " Doug took back _everything_ he said to the lich queen, " _Let him rot for centuries if that's even possible!"_

"Because of him my parents were turned into bone!" Gawayne cried, "All because of a stupid disk!"

 _The Dragon Disk? Turning the King and Queen into bone?_ Necrafa didn't know Dreadbane was capable of such acts. And when did he possess ancient dark magic on his own?

"And if that wasn't bad enough, he almost broke the team apart!" Doug added, "Just so he could take the Codex pieces to set _you free!_ "

 _The team? The Mysticons? He separated them and took the Codex pieces, just for_ _ **her?**_

 _He always did..._

Necrafa shook the, _feeling_ off of her, "It doesn't matter. I don't have to see that, _pathetic_ face of his ever again. Besides; It's not like he's going to emerge from the portal in the next...!"

The next thing everyone knew, the portal began to glow.

* * *

 _So much for retrieving the Codex. At least they got out safe._

 _But now they have to deal with Tazma who had just recently switched bodies with the Evil Queen of the Undead all thanks to the Codex._

Tazma's evil laughter echoed throughout the lair. _Finally!_ _ **She's**_ _the Queen of the Undead!_

" _It's a shame you didn't see this coming,_ _ **my queen.**_ " Tazma taunted Necrafa who was now trapped in _her_ body.

"Not a surprise actually." Necrafa gave a look of indifference. _She knew the Shadow Mage would betray her eventually,_ "Once an Astromancer, _always_ an Astromancer."

This did not sit well with Tazma who used her Dark Magic to restrain and levitate the _former_ queen into the air before commanding the Spectral Hand to attack the Mysticons and their friends.

While her new minions were busy with the Mysticons, Tazma wonders what she'll do with the _former_ queen. Her answer came in the form of a _groan. Oh right. She forgot_ _ **he**_ _got out too._

Dreadbane had just regained consciousness and the first thing he saw was " _Tazma_ " being levitated into the air by " _Necrafa_ ".

" _Dreadbane!_ " Tazma barked, " _Make yourself useful and '_ _ **take care**_ _' of this little, low-life mage._ "

 _Why that...!_ Necrafa turned to Dreadbane, glaring at him, warning him not to fall for such a _measly_ trick. _Or else..._

At first, Dreadbane looked confused. Then he looked quizzically at " _Tazma_ " before turning to " _Necrafa_ ".

"If you say so, _you blasted little_ _ **mage!**_ " Dreadbane sent bone shards at Tazma, knocking her to the ground and releasing Necrafa in the process.

Before Necrafa could hit the ground, Dreadbane managed to catch her in his arms.

"How...?" Necrafa was speechless. _Did he knew it was actually her inside the Shadow Mage's body?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Tazma attacked, but Dreadbane managed to shield them with his sword.

"Come on, Dreadbane." Tazma taunted, " _You wouldn't want to hurt your queen,_ _ **would you?**_ "

"Oh please." Dreadbane scoffed, "This isn't the first time she tried to _kill me._ "

 _True._ Necrafa had to admit; There were times she'd _almost_ obliterate him during some of their sparring sessions. _She's surprised he actually_ _ **remembered**_ _that._

Dreadbane struck the ground with his sword, sending sand flying everywhere. Tazma coughed as she breathed in the sand. When her vision cleared, Necrafa was no longer anywhere near Dreadbane.

Suddenly, she was struck from behind.

"You should really have been more aware of the _differences_ in power." Necrafa taunted as Dark Magic surrounded the two.

When Tazma opened her eye, she realized, to her complete dismay that she was switched back in her own body. The newly-returned queen struck her from behind as punishment.

For some strange reason, Necrafa felt dizzy. It must have taken a great deal of magic to switch them back-and-forth. She would have collapsed if Dreadbane hadn't caught her in time.

"Dreadbane." She looked her general in the eye, still puzzled by what he did earlier, "How, did you know it was, _me?_ "

"As if I could ever _forget_ about you." Dreadbane replied, "Or your _deathly_ gaze. Or,"

As Dreadbane kept enumerating the many things about her, Necrafa couldn't help but listen in marvel.

 _"_ _At least he_ _ **never**_ _stop thinking about you!_ _"_

 _And he never did..._

" _We get it!_ " Gawayne cried in disgust, interrupting Dreadbane, " _You two can't stop thinking about each other!_ "

"Wait. _Necrafa_ _ **and**_ _Dreadbane?_ " Arkayna exclaims in disgust. The others shuddered in disgust as well.

Necrafa blasted Gawayne before her face began to twitch and change.

Through years of experience, Dreadbane knew what it meant and braced himself for a lot of screaming. Instead, something else happened that caused him to gape in complete shock.

While the others were busy with the specters, Arkayna managed to retrieve the Codex. But something else caught her attention and caused her to gape in complete shock and disgust;

Necrafa was... _kissing Dreadbane?!_

Necrafa pulled away, leaving Dreadbane shocked and stunned on what she did. Dark Energy suddenly surrounded him, causing him to roar in pain.

As the Dark Energy continued to surround Dreadbane, Arkayna noticed there was something _different_ about Necrafa. _When did Necrafa had red hair?_

 _Red hair... It looks like that of..._

The Dark Energy dispersed, and from it emerged Dreadbane. _With a brand new look._

The muscular skeleton was now adorned in red and black armor. Large black wings sprouted from his back and his entire skeletal system turned from white to black. He also grew to a feet taller.

Dreadbane roared, signaling the end of his transformation. He landed on the ground and knelt before his queen.

At that moment, Necrafa turned around, allowing Arkayna to take a closer look at the evil queen's new face. _What she saw, shocked her._

 _"Nessira?"_

Upon hearing the name, the Mysticons stopped to gape at Necrafa's new face; It was more human, complete with skin and a mouth. Her eyes remained the same. She had long, flowing pure red hair.

 _Just like that of the Original Mysticons' Solon._

Necrafa was caught by surprise when they spoke her name. _The name she tossed away for so long._ When she saw the way the Dragon Mage was holding the Codex, she figured out how they knew.

 _Why did they even insist in including their picture in there in the first place?_

" _You're Nessira._ " Arkayna muttered in disbelief, " _You were the Original Mysticons' Solon._ "

" _ **Were.**_ " Necrafa emphasized before returning back to her undead face, " _Before they_ _ **betrayed me.**_ "

" _But they were your_ _ **friends.**_ " Piper pointed out.

" _And you dumped them to hang out with creeps like_ _ **that**_ _._ " Zarya pointed to Dreadbane.

" _Say that again, Ranger!_ " Dreadbane roared, surprising Zarya.

"Great. He's not completely _mindless._ " Zarya remarked.

 _I don't want him to be mindless._ Necrafa turned to Dreadbane and silently commanded him to attack.

Dreadbane would have turned Arkayna into _grounded_ Dragon Mage if Zarya hadn't tackled her out of the way.

"Dude, I still can't believe you're still going to work for that lich." Zarya remarked as she shot her arrows at him, "And after she banished you."

Dreadbane managed to knock all her lightning arrows away, "What are you talking about, Ranger?"

This caught Necrafa's attention.

"And how did you Mysticons got here so fast?" Dreadbane asked as he deflected another attack.

"Seriously?" Zarya asked in disbelief, "You just left with us."

" _Left?_ " Dreadbane countered as he countered one of Piper's hoops, "I barely step foot outside my lair. You Mysticons are just trying to confuse me."

"Confuse you?" Em retorted. That's when realization struck her, "Oh great. He just got _amnesia_. Just a brief recap; Necrafa sent you...!"

Before Em could finish, Necrafa blasted her from behind.

Travelling through the portal must have messed up his memory. _Good._ Necrafa wanted it to stay like that. After what the Mysticons' friends told her, she realized that she needed Dreadbane to turn those Mysticons into bone so that she can finish them once and for all.

 _But also, there's another reason why she doesn't want him to remember what happened in the dark realm._

As Dreadbane continues to clash with the Mysticons, Necrafa can't help but mentally (but hesitantly) thank the Mysticons for returning back what she mistakenly threw away in the dark realm.

* * *

 **Yeah. Got the last part from the wiki. I so can** **'t wait for Sunday! Or the day after that! And I can't wait to see Arkayna's Sister!**


	2. Just Like Old Times

The entire lair of the Spectral Hand shook. The specters dodged every falling rocks and beams while attempting to watch their queen clash with her general.

Necrafa used her staff to shield herself from Dreadbane's sword but her general managed to push her back against the wall. As Necrafa recovered from the impact, she glared at Dreadbane, while at the same time hiding the fact that she was actually _enjoying_ this and having so much _fun._

 _Finally! A real fight! Oh how long has she been waiting for this!_ Compared to her other opponents, including the Mysticons, Dreadbane was the only one who could give her such a _rush._

As he attacked and she deflected, she couldn't help but gaze at his glowing red eyes. They still burn with the same intense flame she had known a thousand years ago.

 _But is their owner any different?_

Necrafa flew high in order to avoid the bone shards that Dreadbane sent flying at her. Dreadbane attacked again, managing to land a blast on her, but regretted it when Necrafa began to fall, _unconscious._

" _Necrafa!_ " Dreadbane rushed to catch his queen in his arms.

After a few seconds, Necrafa awoke, only to blast Dreadbane. _Yes. Same old Dreadbane. Falling for the same trick she used on him_ _ **millennium**_ _ago._

"Should've seen that coming." Dreadbane remarked.

"Yes. Yes you should." Necrafa blasted him with her magic, but this time he was ready.

The two undead beings continued to clash, dodging each other's attacks and clashing weapons. The battle became more intense that the quakes began to grow stronger. Soon, almost all of the specters were buried in rubble.

Finally, after what seems to be _hours_ of battling, the two undead beings stopped to catch their breathes.

" _I_ _believe_... _this_ _is_... _the_ _part_... _where_... _you_ , _finish_ _me_." Dreadbane spoke between breathes.

 _That, and sometimes they end in a draw._

" _Glad_... _you_... _agree_." Necrafa tiredly replies.

After a few more moments, the two managed to regain back their strengths. _Which they then use to blast each other one last time._

The two beams of Dark Magic collided. They both blasted the ceiling, causing a heavy downpour of rocks, burying everyone in the process.

After a few moments, Dreadbane emerged from the rubble.

" _Necrafa!_ " He wasted no time in digging his queen out. When he finally found her, she was... _laughing?_

"I have to admit; You've _improved_ over the millennium." Necrafa complimented as she let Dreadbane carry her in his arms.

"Yes, well... It came as a surprise to me too at first." Dreadbane confessed, "It's like I, _changed..._ "

The moment Necrafa heard the word " _changed_ ", she magically froze her general in place.

 _I didn't want you to_ _ **change.**_ _Not that_ _ **much**_ _._ _Not like_ _ **them**_ _. Not like the_ _ **others.**_

Necrafa solemnly touched Dreadbane's black skull, remembering the time it used to have flesh. She pressed her forehead to his, remembering the day he freed her;

The first thing she saw once she emerged from the portal was her loyal general, but something was _different_ about him.

 _That didn't sit well with her. She didn't want him to be_ _ **different.**_ _She didn't want him to_ _ **change.**_

 _Like her_ _ **changed, traitorous, former friends.**_

 _She didn't want him to..._ _ **leave**_ _her. She wanted him to stay by her side no matter what._

 _Like he always did. From the beginning. When she was unjustly accused of practicing Dark Magic._

She was just doing her job; Helping the Original Mysticons. Guiding them to master their powers. Befriending them.

The next thing she knew, one of her fellow Astromancers accused her of practicing Dark Magic and rallied everyone against her.

All, except _one._

Dreadbane swept her away and never left her side ever since.

The one time he did, was when she banished him out of...

Necrafa's thoughts were interrupted by one of her specters, alerting her of the Mysticons.

 _Oh right._ She conjured up a spying spell in order to watch those brats from afar. She stationed some of her specters to monitor the Mysticons' every move while she and Dreadbane... _mellow down her stress._

 _Might as well check them out. But first; She has to unfreeze Dreadbane._

She snapped her fingers, unfreezing her general before she levitated out of his arms.

"Did you just _freeze me?_ " Dreadbane asked skeptically.

 _How did he...?_

"No." Necrafa fibbed. Luckily for her, her other minions were to mindless to notice what she did.

She just wants things to remain as they were. Before she was banished into that Dark World.

* * *

 **Yeah. I'm gonna have to stop here, because I just read the spoilers for the recent episode, and...**

 _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY?! CURSE YOU WRITERS! HOPEFULLY THE NEXT EPISODE IS BETTER!**_

 **Please! What's wrong with getting those two together? Can you at least give us another flashback on how those two were thousand years ago before the Original Dragon Mage defeated them?**

 **Sigh. Hopefully, Arkayna would really have a touching, and heartwarming reunion with her sister! Ooh! The only way I can ever love this show again if they reveal Arkayna and her Sister as kids!**


	3. Inside The Stars

**Take note; I thought this up before ep 19.**

 **(Thinking about ep 19)**

 _ **WHY?!**_

* * *

"Keep an eye out for those Mysticons. No one gets in and out, _alive._ "

As the specters scattered, Necrafa surveyed the inside of the Celestial Castle. She still couldn't believe this is where Terron hid one of the brats of the prophecy.

She soon found herself in the large ballroom. The glass windows were so tall and clear that she can see the dark, night sky specked with multiple stars in the sky.

For some strange reason, she finds them... _alluring._ And, _comforting?_

Just looking at the, _beautiful_ night sky brought back... _happy_ memories...

* * *

 _Imani really knows how to pack a punch._

 _She and Yuna were teamed up in a training battle against Kafras and Taizer. Unfortunately for the Knight and Ranger, the Dragon Mage and Striker had the upper hand._

 _Nessira threw a sphere of magic on the ground. The sphere exploded into smoke, blinding the Mysticons in the process. The Astromancer watched as the Mysticons fought in the midst of the smoke, despite some of their senses, mostly their sight, being blocked._

 _Kafras and Taizer attacked the girls with blasts from Kafras' sword and lightning arrows, but Yuna managed to shield her and Imani with her hoops. In retaliation, Imani summoned a magic lasso from her staff to tie the opposing team up. She unintentionally pulled too hard, sending her teammates flying towards her and Yuna. The Mysticons collided with each other, knocking each other to the ground._

 _Everyone laughed at their predicament, including Nessira. Using her magic, she helped her students up._

 _After a few moments of relaxing before the campfire, the Mysticons and their Solon gazed in wonder at the night sky. The stars sure really light up the night beautifully._

 _"So, when are you going to ask him?" Imani asked Nessira moments later._

 _Nessira turned to Taizer who was having a stick-fight with Kafras, "Well...I'm sure he's finally aware of the fact..."_

 _"Not him." Yuna corrected, "_ _ **Him.**_ _"_

 _By the looks on Imani and Yuna's faces, Nessira blushed in realization, "Oh. Uh... During the party?"_

 _"Yeah. I bet no one asked him by then." Imani remarked._

 _"You know you're going to have to tell him eventually." Yuna added, causing Nessira to blush even more, "The Harvest Dance is tomorrow night."_

 _"You know," Kafras came to her side, smirking, "the one way to a man's heart, is through the Magic, of Dance."_

 _"Great idea." Imani stood up and began dragging Nessira away from Kafras, much to his dismay, "Music, Maestr_ _ **a**_ _."_

 _Yuna gladly provided the magical melody._

 _Nessira had to admit; Imani was really smooth on her feet. Nessira wasn't even stepping on her feet. This could work._

 _As Imani dips her, Nessira was starting to lose all fear of asking_ _ **him**_ _to the Dance._

 _Sorry Kafras and Taizer. Maybe next Dance._

* * *

When Necrafa opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Dreadbane with a nervous look on his face. She realized he was holding her in his arms as if he was just dipping her.

 _Oh great. She just unconsciously danced with Dreadbane._

"I swear; I tried to wake you up." Dreadbane explained as he helped her get back on her feet.

Necrafa narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. Still, for some strange reason, she soon found herself _still_ dancing with him.

" _You're fortunate that there are no witnesses._ " She whispered as they continued to waltz around the ballroom.

Unfortunately for them... _Let's just say, she was completely wrong about her last statement._

The Mysticons, the Astromancers and the Royal Family were searching for Arkayna's twin sister along with the Constellatians when they come across the Queen of the Undead... _dancing? With Dreadbane?_

"Is it me, or did Necrafa just... _smile?_ " Arkayna asked in complete shock. She's surprise the queen didn't sense their presence yet.

"And when did Dreadbane became... _smooth?_ " Em added.

Still waltzing, the two undead beings thought they heard someone, but when they turned to the source, the search party had already hid underneath the table.

As they continued to dance, Necrafa turned her head away from Dreadbane. Yet, she can't help but notice the way he dances so... _flawlessly._

 _Just like their dance at the Harvest Dance. Thousand years ago._

"I have to admit; You haven't lost your touch after all these millennium." Necrafa commented as Dreadbane twirled her around, "At least you have better footing than that _old_ _chicken_."

" _Someone spilled punch on the floor!_ " Nova Terron complained as silently as he can.

Arkayna gaped in surprise, " _You? Dance?_ "

Some of the Astromancers coughed awkwardly. _Something tells them he wasn't a very good dancer._

"You heard something?" Dreadbane asked, alerting the search party.

Just when they thought they were going to get discovered...

"No." Necrafa replied.

 _Something felt wrong about that reply._ Arkayna took a peak under the tablecloth; Necrafa was now looking at Dreadbane with that look in her eyes that suggests that she was... _smiling?_

"Are you wearing _Mysterious Musk?_ " Necrafa asked after taking a whiff of _something_.

That _something_ turns out to be Gawayne's cologne. He initially thought it would attract his ex-girlfriend Lateensia, but to his dismay, it attracted the evil Queen of the Undead. For some reason, the girls find this _amusing._

"You know, I do seem to recall calling him a..." Necrafa tried to recall what she labeled Nova Terron thousand years ago due to his _terrible_ dancing, "What did I call him back then?"

"If I recall, in your own words;" Dreadbane offered before twirling her around, "A humanoid _eel_ with two _chicken_ _legs_ , the eyes of a _gecko_ and _slimy_ _tentacles_ for arms that emphasizes his _inability_ _to_ _stay_ _on_ _his_ _feet_."

He ended his statement by dipping Necrafa, "I believe that's it."

"Yes. Exactly." Necrafa replied in satisfaction. He really was _all_ those things. Dreadbane saying he was so, made it even more amusing.

 _He always did know what to say._

When Dreadbane pulled her back up, she couldn't help but gaze into his glowing red eyes, just as how he was gazing into hers. Unknowingly, the two undead beings began moving their heads toward each other...

" _ **You wouldn't know talent if you didn't trip on it with those BIG FEET OF YOURS!**_ " Nova Terron screamed in rage.

When he realized what he just done, he covered his mouth and duck back under the tablecloth.

" _Yeah. I'm pretty sure they didn't notice that._ " Malvaron replied sarcastically.

The next thing everyone knew, they were surrounded by red energy and were levitated into the air, _right before a glaring Necrafa._

How do they react to this?

" _Hi._ " The Mysticons waved sheepishly.

"Sorry we ruined your date." Piper apologized.

Necrafa narrowed her eyes, " _What are you talking about?_ "

"You two are _alone?_ " Zarya pointed out, " _Without_ your minions? Dancing under the _mesmerizing_ light of the _tantalizing_ Moon?"

As she said the last part, everyone looked up to the Moon. _It sure was tantalizing._

"We, wished you didn't put it _that_ way." Dreadbane remarked.

"Plus you guys are _**still**_ _holding hands._ " Emerald pointed out.

Both Dreadbane's and Necrafa's eyes widened in surprise. Sure enough, _they were_ _ **still**_ _holding hands._

The two let go in annoyance.

Their witnesses could only sigh in mixed disappointment and disgust _; Evil people in love. So cowardly in admitting their feelings._

* * *

" _Really? At the moment of your demise?_ " Necrafa scoffed in disgust.

Just as she was about to destroy the Dragon Mage, who she discovered was actually one of the princesses of the Prophecy, her twin came out of nowhere and blasted her _wretched_ sister free. She managed to restrain both twins with her magic. When she turned her backs on them to revel in their demise, everyone else was _awing._ She turned around only to find the twins _happily_ hugging each other, despite the predicament they were in.

" _Haven't seen each other for a long time!_ " Arkayna pointed out.

" _Due to_ _ **really bad**_ _judgement!_ " Her sister Astrella added, causing Nova Terron to want to shrink out of guilt.

Necrafa just used her magic to keep the twins slightly apart, much to their dismay.

As the evil queen prepares to destroy the twins, Piper caught sight of a single flower encased in a small glass dome just a few feet away from her. She recognized that flower anywhere; _Love's Breathe. Cygnia did mention that they keep Love's Breathes in glass domes in order to prevent the spread of pollen._

 _She needed to get that flower. But how... Oh right._

Piper began to scream wildly, catching Necrafa's attention. The evil queen sighed in annoyance before shaking the Striker back and forth in order to make her stop. Unknown to her, this allowed the Mysticon to grab the flower.

" _Hold your breathes!_ " Piper cried as she tossed the dome at Necrafa.

Necrafa blasted the dome along with the flower inside. Big mistake for her, as the pollen began to spread. Everyone held their breathes, with magical assistance of course. Unfortunately for Necrafa and Dreadbane, they had already breathed in the pollen, causing them to cough like crazy. In the process, Arkayna and Astrella were released along with the others.

Piper didn't want to do it, _but she_ _ **had**_ _to._ She blasted Necrafa on her feet, causing the evil queen to lose her footing. Dreadbane managed to catch her just in time.

 _T_ _he_ _moment Dreadbane and Necrafa locked eyes,_ _the_ _ **horror**_ _begins..._

" _Dreadbane_. Is it me, or are you suddenly..." Necrafa sighed blissfully, " _less irritating?_ "

The others gape in complete shock and disgust before they held onto their barfs.

" _My Angel of Darkness,_ " Dreadbane held Necrafa close in his arms while she stroke his armor with her finger, " _you darken my world with your cursed, foreshadowing aura._ "

To the heroes' horror, the two undead beings began to waltz once again. Everyone else turned to Piper, _annoyed_.

" _It's the_ _ **only**_ _thing I can think of!_ " Piper whispered nervously.

" _Let's just get out of here!_ " Nova Terron whispered.

" _Before they_ _ **tie the knot!**_ " Doug whispered fearfully.

Everyone shivered in disgust at the thought. Quickly but silently, the search party began exiting the room. To their surprise, the specters didn't attack. Necrafa probably ordered them to watch her dance or something.

Suddenly, Em slipped, making a loud sound on the ground.

" _Hi Mysticons!_ " Necrafa waved cheerfully as Dreadbane dips her.

The Mysticons could only wave with nervous smiles plastered on their faces.

" _Bye crazy lady always trying to kill us!_ " Piper waved nervously.

" _Man. He really is_ _ **smooth**_ _._ " Em commented Dreadbane's fancy footwork as she was helped back to her feet, much to the ire of Nova Terron.

Once everyone was out, the Astromancers closed the doors and used their magic to barricade it with _a lot_ of locks and chains. To their dismay, it didn't block the _sound._

" _What are you doing?!_ " Nova stopped Piper before she could use her bracer on the door.

" _What_ _ **you're**_ _doing!_ " Piper replied.

To Nova's surprise, his hand was glowing and was pointed straight at the door. He managed to contain it before... _Wait. What were they really planning? Escaping? Or stopping the_ _ **apocalypse**_ _that is happening_ _ **behind**_ _the doors?_

Queen Goodfey happily embraced Arkayna and her recently reunited sister, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't hav..."

 _"Who's my knight in evil armor?!"_

 _Great. That ruined the moment._

Everyone cringed in disgust even though the doors were closed and they couldn't see the two undead beings. But they could still hear them and... ( _shiver._ ) _**Picture**_ _, what was happening on the other side._

There were those who were close to breaking the doors down in order to eradicate the pollen only to stop. They wanted to escape, but they... _just,_ _can_ ' _t,_ _stop,_ _ **listening! Oh make it stop!**_

Finally, the, _sound,_ stopped. Everyone sighed in relief.

Nova Terron turned to the royal family, "I know what I have done was inexcusable and unforgivable. All I can say is, that..."

"Necrafa, will you _**marry**_ _me?_ "

Everyone's eyes widened in complete shock.

* * *

In the ballroom, Dreadbane was on his knee while both his hands were holding Necrafa's hand. Necrafa felt her heart thumping like crazy. If she had a mouth, you'd be able to tell that she was sporting the _biggest, happiest_ smile in all the realm. ( _It was_ _ **definitely**_ _because of the Love's Breath._ )

Just as she was about to reply, _the doors of to the ballroom bursted open._

 _ **"NOOOOOOO!"**_

Piper and Nova launched their bracer and magic respectively at the two undead beings. Fortunately, ( _for some reason_ ) their attacks missed the pollen... _but then they bounced off the wall and completely disintegrat_ _ing_ _every last speck of the seductive_ _pollen_.

Everyone cringed when Necrafa and Dreadbane blinked in confusion.

" _What, just happened?_ " Necrafa demanded as she pulled her hand away from Dreadbane.

" _Not again._ " Dreadbane complained.

" _ **'Again'**_ _?_ " Necrafa echoed before leering down at Dreadbane, " _Who was_ _ **she?**_ "

Her question caught Dreadbane by surprise. _Was she being..._ _ **jealous**_ _?_

The Mysticons thought this was their chance to escape. Unfortunately, the Queen of the Undead wasn't very _happy_ with the way they tricked her.

 _So much for the warm sibling reunion._

* * *

 **Okay. Seeing the episode "Star-Crossed Sisters", I thought that maybe Arkayna's Twin must be held in some kind of different world. Maybe a world where Constellations act as Living Creatures? The Creatures of that world would be called "Constellatians".**

 **How cool will it be if Arkayna's Twin will become the 5th Mysticon? They'd call her "Mysticon Star Dragon Mage". Or maybe "Mysticon Astral Mage". Or "Mysticon Astromancer". Then she'll wield The Star Dragon Bracer.**

 **Maybe if the twins touch each other, they trigger a powerful magical reaction. Powerful enough to hatch a dragon of great destruction.**


	4. The Edge of Two Morrows

**Saw an incoming alt-world episode in the wiki. Just had to write this. Credits to 'brave kid'.**

 **Okay. To be honest, the summary of the episode didn't make much sense. I thought it was a typo or something. Maybe it's actually an episode where Piper doesn't want to be Mysticon Striker anymore and created an alternate timeline due to a wish-gone-wrong?**

* * *

 _Why did she make that wish on that coin?_

When her teammates criticized her for almost jeopardizing the mission due to her childish attitude, Piper stormed off until she reached a fountain. As she threw a coin on the fountain, she made a wished she wasn't Mysticon Striker in the first place.

The next thing she knew, Drake City was in ruins. Its only inhabitants were specters, orcs and every other evil creatures.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she was captured and locked up in a dungeon, only to be saved by _Tazma?!_

 _Just what is going on in here?_

"Stop." Piper stopped Tazma on her tracks, "What _happened_ here? When did Drake City turn... _evil?_ "

"Ever since..." Tazma stopped, looking guilty, surprising Piper, "Nothing. Let's just go."

"No." Piper replied firmly, "This _can_ ' _t_ be Drake City. It used to be so, _sunny._ And _warm._ And _happy._ And you're suppose to be..."

Piper realized what she was about to say and covered her mouth in regret. Unfortunately for her, Tazma figured it out and the guilt in her face intensified.

"I know." She spoke, "I was a fool to align myself with Dreadbane. The moment he found out I was just using him, he..."

A moment of silence. _That's never a good sign._

"I tried to stop him." Tazma continued, "I _really_ did. _But then_ _ **she**_ _was freed._ The next thing I knew, she terrorized the city and enslaved every living being. Many of us managed to flee. _But not for long._ "

"But... but..." Piper stuttered in disbelief. _Tazma,_ _ **stopping**_ _Dreadbane? This can't be right!_ , "What about the Mysticons?"

"The Mysticons sacrificed their lives thousand of years ago." Tazma replied solemnly.

"What about the _new_ Mysticons?" Piper asked even further.

"What, _new_ Mysticons?" Tazma asked in puzzlement.

Piper replied by engulfing herself in light, replacing herself with her Mysticon Striker self, much to Tazma's shock and disbelief.

" _There are_ _ **new**_ _Mysticons?_ " She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Piper shot back, "We've been around ever since Dreadbane raided the Royal Palace and turned the King and Queen into bone. And if I recall; _You blackmailed us into stealing the Dragon Disk!_ "

"The King, Queen, _and_ the royal twins." Tazma corrected, "And I've _never_ seen you before. _Or_ blackmailed you into stealing anything."

"Hold on." Piper shook her head in confusion, " _And the twins?_ But...Arkayna hasn't seen her sister since they were babies. And you..."

Tazma suddenly grabbed her and dragged her behind the shadows as some specters passed them.

" _We can talk later._ " She whispered, " _Right now we have to get out of here._ "

Piper wanted to protest, but if she ever want answers on why _everything_ is suddenly like this, she had to follow Tazma's lead. _Even when she thinks she's still evil and just pretending to be nice._

Tazma led her to the balcony, only to drag her behind the bushes. _And for a reason;_

"What do you mean, ' _they escaped_ '?" Necrafa glared at her specters, " _Find them_."

The girls ducked lower into the bushes to avoid being spotted by the specters. They watched as Necrafa sighed before turning her gaze at the ruined Drake City.

 _Necrafa. Queen of Drake City._ That did not sit well with Piper. How in the realm did she even manage to take over the entire realm? And where were the Mysticons? Why couldn't they stop her like they always do? And why...?!

Piper's thoughts were interrupted when small projectiles were aimed at the queen. Just as they were a feet away from her, they were suddenly stopped in mid-air. _And she didn't even have to turn around._

Piper could swore she heard a giggle coming from Necrafa.

The queen turned around and addressed her attacker who was nowhere to be seen, "If this is what you think of a _surprise,_ then I'm afraid you're losing your touch."

The attacker still didn't show himself, but Necrafa heard a step and sent the projectiles to its location. Upon closer inspection, they only crumbled a part of the wall.

"Funny. I was going to say the same thing." Dreadbane emerged from the shadows behind her.

Necrafa turned to the muscular skeleton. For a moment, all they could do was stare at each other. Necrafa then quickly brought her hand forward as if to attack, but Dreadbane swiftly grabbed it and pulled her towards him. _And did he just put his other hand on her back like...? And did he just_ _ **dip her?!**_

" _What's happening?_ " Piper asks fearfully.

" _You'll see._ " Tazma replied silently but nervously.

Necrafa kicked Dreadbane before flying away. Dreadbane ignored the pain and smirked. To Piper's surprise, he revealed his own wings and flew after Necrafa. Necrafa blasted, but Dreadbane dodged. Just as he was about to tackle Necrafa, she teleported away from him. Unfortunately for Tazma and Piper, _she teleported_ _ **behind the bushes.**_

 _At least she's a few feet away from them. And she doesn't notice them. They just have to crouch lower to not be seen._

 _Wait... Is Necrafa,_ _ **giggling?**_

Dreadbane found her, but she tackled him to the ground. He retaliated by turning himself over so that he was above her. The two undead being chuckled at their predicament, _something that Piper find..._ _ **unsettling.**_

" _Oh, my, goblin._ " A _sick_ revelation struck Piper, _but she wished it was just a terrible nightmare._

" _My wicked queen._ " Dreadbane purred, gazing down at Necrafa.

" _My malevolent king._ " Necrafa cooed back, stroking his armor with her finger.

A loud scream echoed into the night, but the two undead rulers kept gazing into each other's eyes.

" _Sweet music._ " Dreadbane sighed blissfully.

The evil rulers might not have heard Piper's scream, but Tazma covered her mouth with her hand in order to silence her.

Piper took deep breathes before exclaiming quietly, " _When did_ _ **THAT**_ _happen?!_ "

" _You're lucky you weren't one of their_ _ **witnesses.**_ " Tazma shivered at the memory.

To their relief, the two undead, (shiver) _couple_ got back on their feet. _But they still held each other._

Necrafa gazed into her evil-infested kingdom as she laid her head on Dreadbane's neck while he held her in his arms, "Isn't it all _beautiful?_ Look how they cower at our darkness."

Dreadbane chuckled in amusement, "It just seam like a year ago; The Astromancers never even stood a chance. In just a few minutes, you already had them on their knees."

Piper gaped in disbelief. _She managed to defeat the Astromancers in_ _ **minutes?**_

"I have to admit;" Necrafa confessed, "I was _upset_ that it took you a thousand years to set me free.

Dreadbane cringed at the thought of his queen being _upset. It was never a pretty sight._

He relaxed when Necrafa reached a hand out to caress his face.

"But then," Necrafa continued, "you risked your life to save mine. That's when I realized; I couldn't stand another second, _without you._ "

Piper fought the urge to throw up. She can hear Tazma silently muttering to herself, complaining about Dreadbane getting in the way of her attack.

"Thank goodness that nightmare's over." Dreadbane sighed in relief, "I also have to confess; I was going to surprise you with some special, _guests-of-honor,_ but unfortunately..."

"Oh don't you worry about that." Necrafa cupped his skull in her hands, "It won't be long until every one of _them_ is hunted down. _And they'll soon be_ _ **mine.**_ _Just like you, my darling._ "

The moment their heads were moving towards each other, Tazma quickly grabbed Piper's hand, " _We have to go._ "

" _And_ _ **fast!**_ " Piper shivered in complete horror and disgust. _It was bad enough that they were_ _ **hitched!**_ _And now they were going to_ _ **make**_ _..._ _ **Shedoesn'tevenwanttosayit!**_

The moment the two undead rulers kissed, a wave of dark energy rippled throughout the entire area. It even ripped the bushes from the earth, revealing Tazma and Piper who were knocked to the ground by the powerful force. Thankfully, after a few more seconds, the undead couple pulled away, ending the wave as they stared blissfully at each other's eyes.

" _Well that was so uncalled for._ " Piper remarked.

 _Unfortunately_ _for_ _her_ , _that_ _caught_ _the attention of her enemies_.

Using her magic, Necrafa levitated Tazma and Piper towards them, her and Dreadbane's eyes widening in complete shock upon seeing Piper.

" _A new_ _ **Striker?!**_ " Both undead rulers angrily exclaimed.

" _Hey._ " Piper waved nervously, " _Oh my goblin. They just couple-synced._ "

" _Happy_ _Anniversary_." Tazma shot Necrafa but Dreadbane managed to block it.

"Oh grow up, Mage." Dreadbane shot back, "You never did learn anything the moment you revealed your true nature to us."

"It was all a huge _mistake._ " Tazma shook her head in dismay, "I should never had betrayed the Astromancers in the first place."

"Aw. I'm sure your _dear brother_ would have appreciated that." Dreadbane mocked, earning a growl from Tazma, "At least I can still go on with my surprise. _Happy Anniversary, my queen!_ "

Once Dreadbane's hand began to glow, the girls tried in vain to break free.

Suddenly, something was shot on the balcony, spreading pixie dust everywhere. Both Necrafa and Dreadbane coughed uncontrollably while Piper used her hoops and managed to set her and Tazma free. Two griffins landed in front of them, one was ridden by a tall, buff blond man sporting sunglasses. He greeted them with a wink.

"Where have you been?" Tazma scolded.

"Specter Duty?" The driver replied, pointing to one of his muscles, "These babies don't sculpt themselves."

A sense of familiarity washed over Piper. His voice sounded louder, but his attitude makes him look like...

" _Gawayne?_ " Piper asked in disbelief. _When did he start working out?_

"Who's the elf?" Gawayne pointed to Piper.

" _Later._ " Tazma pushed Piper on top of the other griffin, "We have to go. _Now._ "

" _Miss Paisley!_ " Piper squealed and hugged her griffin, much to her confusion.

"Friend of yours?" Gawayne asked. Miss Paisley replied by shaking her head.

Necrafa and Dreadbane blasted them, but they already took to the skies. Necrafa spotted something on the ground and picked it up; A coin. One of the brats must have dropped it.

Dreadbane was about to call the specters when Necrafa stopped him, "Let them go. Something tells me they will be _coming_ _back_."

As the griffins flew them across the darkened sky, Piper couldn't help but blame herself for what was happening to Drake City.


	5. Unholy Matrimony

The Realm of Gemina. _In ruins._

From the balcony of the Royal Palace, Necrafa watched with amusement as her Spectral Dragon laid waste all over Drake City, burning everything in its path. Behind her, the remaining Royal Family, along with the Astromancers, the Pink Skulls, and other families and friends of the Mysticons, watched helplessly behind bars.

 _It just happened so fast; The twins drained of their powers. The hatching. The..._

 _The_ _last_ _moment_ _was_ _too much to bear._

" _I'm sorry I couldn't protect your daughters._ " Nova Terron apologized solemnly to Queen Goodfey who just wordlessly nodded in understanding as her husband and stepson comforted her.

" _Look at you all. Cowering before the power of my queen._ " Tazma mocked, earning her glares, " _Now you know what it feels to be weak and powerless._ "

Necrafa turned to her followers, " _Go. Terrorize. And if there are those who dare stand in your way, show them_ _ **no mercy.**_ "

The prisoners could do nothing but watch as the specters destroyed everything in their path. They even destroyed Gawayne's statues of himself.

" _Stepsister would have_ _ **loved**_ _that._ " Gawayne sobbed. _Those times when he would push her buttons, they felt_ _ **meaningless**_ _now._

Dreadbane watched as the specters scattered into the sky in order to deliver their queen's bidding. He was happy for her. Finally, she can rule over the realm. And best of all; _no meddling Mysticons._

 _Guess that means she doesn't need him anymore._

Just as he turns around and began to walk away...

"Dreadbane." Necrafa's voice stopped him in his tracks, "Stay with me."

 _Of course. Just_ _ **one more thing**_ _for the_ _ **lowly minion.**_ Dreadbane turned to face his queen. Before he could say a word...

" _As my_ _ **king.**_ "

 _..._

 _...?_

Everyone gaped in surprise. Especially Dreadbane. _Did she just...? Was she...? Are they...?_

Dreadbane gazed at his queen. Necrafa was giving him a expecting look, arms outstretched.

 _This has to be a dream._

 _Is it?_

Dreadbane slowly approached Necrafa until he took her hands into his larger ones, " _You, have no idea, how_ _ **long**_ _, I have waited for you to say_ _ **that**_ _to me._ "

" _And you have no idea how long_ _ **we**_ _have waited for you_ _ **not**_ _to say_ _ **that**_ _to_ _ **him.**_ " Gawayne complained as he and the others averted their eyes in disgust.

 _They're lucky the ground near them was blasted_ _ **instead**_ _of them._

Just as the two undead beings were about to kiss, _Dreadbane was blasted to the ground._

" _Are you_ _ **KIDDING ME?!**_ " Tazma roared, her hands filled with her dark magic.

" _Thank you!_ " The prisoners called.

Tazma angrily stomped her way towards Necrafa, " _After_ _ **EVERYTHING**_ _I did for you, you have the_ _ **decency**_ _of bestowing such high honor to your_ _ **pathetic, excuse for a...!**_ "

She didn't get to finish as Necrafa blasted her to the ground.

" _Once an Astromancer,_ " Necrafa levitated Dreadbane back on his feet, " _ **always**_ _an Astromancer. So_ _ **full**_ _of_ _ **themselves.**_ _Always striving to be the best,_ _ **no matter what it takes.**_ _Its a shame they never accepted the fact that they'll always be_ _ **worthless vessels of such meek energy.**_ "

 _No. This can't be happening._ Tazma couldn't believe what she was hearing. _She promise her she'd make her more_ _ **POWERFUL!**_

"Then again, _you'd make a perfect little_ _ **decor.**_ " Necrafa moved out of the way for Dreadbane to reach out to Tazma.

Tazma backed away in fear knowing what was about to happen to her. _This wasn't how it was suppose to end!_

" _Hey Bonehead!_ "

Dreadbane stopped and turned to a glaring Malvaron, " _I got some_ _ **unfinished**_ _ **business**_ _with my traitorous sister._ "

Dreadbane didn't complain. And so did Necrafa. She magically opened the cage containing the Astromancers so that Dreadbane can throw Tazma in. Tazma looked up only to find the Astromancers glaring at her and braced herself for her punishment.

To her complete surprise, _Malvaron helped her up._

Tazma was speechless. _Why aren't they attacking her? After everything she had put them to..._

" _I just lost my friends today._ " Malvaron interrupted her thoughts, " _I don't want to end up like the_ _ **monsters**_ _who took them away._ "

 _This... This was not how she expected..._

"Well that's a shame." Necrafa shook her head in disappointment before turning to Dreadbane and holding his hands, "Now, _where were we?_ "

Once more, the two undead lovers moved their heads toward each other...

" _Wait!_ "

 _Really?_

"Come on, Man." Gawayne nervously addressed Dreadbane, "You really want to do _this?_ Spend the rest of your life with the _crazy, ungrateful_ lady who _literally_ dumped you?"

"Y-yeah." Malvaron joined in, "She _banished_ you to some desert after everything you did for her. That's not a lady I would want to hang out with if I...!"

He and Gawayne were silenced when Dreadbane stomped before them and threatened them with a glare, "You know, that's not the first time she blasted me, or tried to kill me, or incinerate me into ashes, or..."

As Dreadbane continues to list down the many, _many_ times she, _disciplined_ him, Necrafa couldn't help but feel like, he was going to say something... _heartwarming._ Meanwhile, the prisoners could only listen in surprise at the many, _many_ times she _disciplined_ him.

She had to admit though; She can be too, _extreme._ And yet, he _never_ let her side.

"Or even tried to feed me to a monstrous, ravenous beast." Dreadbane took a deep breathe, "I swore I would never, _ever_ leave her side. And I _always_ _never_ will. _Just as how I will_ _ **always, love her.**_ "

 _For the first time in her life, Necrafa, Queen of the Undead... was_ _ **speechless.**_ _Dreadbane has never... So, much, emotion... Swirling inside..._

Before Gawayne even has a chance to speak, he was silenced by a blast on his cage. He, along with the other prisoners, were caught by surprise when Necrafa suddenly tackled Dreadbane to the ground.

" _I will_ _ **always love you too.**_ " Necrafa vowed before pulling her lover in a grand, romantic kiss. _Much to the disgust of their prisoners._

* * *

 _Why did they have to be the_ _ **witnesses?**_

" _I'm sorry I tried to kill you._ " Tazma whispered to her brother as they hugged each other out of fear.

" _I'm sorry I messed up Sir. Knows-A-Lot when we were kids._ " Malvaron replied.

" _At least Stepsisters aren't here to see this!_ " Gawayne whined as he averted his eyes.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared. It grew and became brighter, prompting everyone to shield their eyes. Necrafa and Dreadbane, who were gazing at the destruction in a romantic embrace, turned around only to shield their eyes from the intense brightness.

The light died down, _revealing..._

" _ **Z-Star!**_ "

" _ **Piper!**_ "

" _ **Em!**_ "

" _ **Arkayna!**_ "

" _ **Astrella!**_ "

The others cried in glee. They thought they were gone. _But here they are!_ _ **Alive! The Mysticons are ALIVE! And they have a new member!**_

"Hey Astrella! Looking good!" Gawayne complimented one of his stepsisters who was now clad in golden-yellow attire complete with a golden-yellow facial marking like that of her twin, "But we do wish you got back from the dead _before_ the _ceremony._ "

" _Ceremony?_ " The Mysticons echoed in confusion.

Meanwhile, Necrafa and Dreadbane stuttered in disbelief at the sight of their enemies, who they had just witnessed hours ago _eliminated_ by the Spectral Dragon, _brought back to life!_

"Aw. We miss you too." Em teased as the Mysticons readied their weapons.

" _Seriously?_ " Dreadbane groaned, " _How hard is it to get rid of you meddling Mysticons?_ "

" _Yeah?_ " Gawayne shot back, " _Well you're starting to sound like a lousy king! And_ _ **I**_ _should know!_ "

...

...?!

" _ **KING?!**_ _"_ The Mysticons exclaimed in shock and realization, " _ **CEREMONY?!**_ "

" _Seriously?_ " Zarya eyed the undead couple in disbelief, "We _'_ ve been dead for _, what? 2 hours...?_ "

" _2 hours, 56 minutes, and 51 seconds!_ " Kasey corrected.

"And, you guys get yourselves _**hitched**_ _?_ " Zarya continued.

"You know there's like a _million_ ways to celebrate your enemies' _demise_." Em pointed out.

Having enough, Necrafa summoned her Spectral Dragon.

The Mysticons weren't intimidated. This time, they were ready to end the realm's suffering _once and for all._


	6. Together Again, For Revenge

**This is a part of a crossover. Not planning to write the whole of it. Just the parts with these two.**

* * *

 _The dark energy is strong._ A hooded masked figure stood alone in a deserted island. He raised his arms in full concentration as dark energy surrounded him, causing his eyes to glow bloody-red.

After a few more moments, the figure lowered his arms and the dark energy dispersed, _revealing the three villains he_ _brought back from the dead._

 _He had to blink_ _ **five times**_ _in order to make sure he wasn't delusional._ He, _Captain Kaos,_ the most feared Pirate of the Seven Skies, _alive. And out to get even with the filthy bilge-rat, Zarya Moonwolf and her little Mysticon friends._

Just as he spread his wings to celebrate his revival, he caught sight of a strange, yet _alluring,_ humanoid creature. She was tall, black all over with skeletal details. She also had wings that look like she was wearing a long, flowing cape. Base on the expression on her face, she looked like she had just been brought back from the dead.

Smirking, Kaos smoothed down his feathers and _casually_ strolled towards the new creature before grabbing her hand, much to her confusion.

" _Well_ ," Kaos cooed as he wiggled his eyebrows, " _aren't you the prettiest cloud in the Seven Skies._ "

A groan caught the creature's attention. She turned to find the third creature, a muscular winged skeleton, soothing his aching head.

" _Dreadbane._ " Necrafa released herself from Kaos' grip before quickly flying towards her husband, _much to the dismay of the parrot pirate._

Just as she was about to embrace him, Dreadbane backed away from her, " _Keep your hands away from me, or so help me, I'll blast you to the depths of Oblivion,_ _ **Mage!**_ "

The hooded figure chuckled in amusement as he approached the King of the Undead, " _Nothing gets pass you, huh?_ "

Dreadbane just glared at the hooded masked figure before he slightly backed away, just as a ray of Dark Magic blasted the illusion the figure conjured up before he too was blasted from behind. Hovering in unamusement was the _true_ Queen of the Undead. _And_ _ **no one**_ _messes with her man._

Necrafa happily embraced her king as he twirled her around. She still couldn't believe they were given another chance to _destroy those pesky Mysticons once and for all._

The two undead rulers move in for a kiss, _only to kiss Kaos instead._

"So... How _serious_ are you two?" The pirate asked. _Their reply; Roasted Parrot._

The hooded figure whistled in amusement, "He was right about the _intensity._ "

"I guess we should thank you," Necrafa cocked an eye ridge, expecting the name of the one who brought her and her king back to life.

"You can call me, ' _P_ '." The figure replied.

The three villain just stood in complete, silent awkwardness.

" _Really?_ " Kaos broke the silence by speaking first, " _You're going with_ _ **that.**_ "

" _Unfortunately._ " P replied begrudgingly. _**He**_ _had to insist._

" _What do you want,_ _ **Mage?**_ " Necrafa asked.

P chuckled, "Oh. _I'm far_ _ **more**_ _than any_ _ **mage.**_ "

" _Someone_ sent you here. Did they?" Necrafa pointed out.

"It is that obvious, isn't it?" P mused, "And I'm actually here on _your_ behalf."

This surprised the villains.

"After all, you three have common enemies." P went on, "The ones who always ruin your plans. The thorns to your roses. The light to your darkness. The only obstacles to achieving what you have desired for so long."

 _"The Mysticons."_ The three villains growled (In Kaos' chase, _squawked_ ) with hate.

 _Its because of those little brats... They were so close. But_ _ **they**_ _had to get in the way of their plans._

" _What's in it for you?_ " Dreadbane asked P.

" _For_ _ **us.**_ " P corrected, " _The Codex._ "

 _Of course. Who wouldn't want an ancient tome of_ _ **great power?**_

"You wouldn't need it." P went on, "Since I already provided you with _tremendous_ power. But there are those who seek its power for a, (in disgust) _good cause. A cause that could eradicate_ _ **all evil in this world.**_ My master, _requested_ your assistance in making sure such power doesn't fall into such hands. Of course, he understands if you don't want to go through this."

He's right; _There was_ _ **no**_ _ **way**_ _are they going to follow the orders of a mere mage, or whatever he is. And his master._

 _Still; Whoever wants the Codex, wants its powers for a,_ _ **good cause**_ _and wants to destroy_ _ **all evil**_ _in the world._ _ **Including them.**_

Necrafa locked eyes with her king who confirms his agreement. They both turn to Kaos; _It's settled._

"Alright, _P._ (The other two cough awkwardly)" Necrafa spoke, "You have our _full cooperation._ "

"Excellent. The Master would be quite pleased." P turned his back on them and began raising his arms.

"Who is this, _master_ you speak of?" Dreadbane asked.

" _Oh. Someone you are all quite_ _ **familiar**_ _with._ " P replied mysteriously.

 _For some reason, it sent chills in their bones._

* * *

A nice, relaxing party, _crashed by Demons and Devils._

 _Okay. To be honest; It was_ _ **too**_ _relaxing._

The Mysticons fought every Demon and Devil that came their way. The Astromancers even lend magical helping hands along with the royal family. (At first, Gawayne hid under the table, but then he attacked a Demon with a bowl of spicy, chili dip.)

Piper threw one of her hoops, only to be caught by a _familiar_ hand, causing everyone to gape in disbelief at the _gatecrashers._

" _Necrafa?_ "

" _Dreadbane?_ "

" _And Captain Kaos?_ "

"Mysticons." Necrafa greeted rather cheerfully, "It's so _nice_ to see you again. Striker, I believe _this_ belongs to _you._ "

Necrafa threw the hoop back at Piper. Upon contact with her weapon, she was thrown against the wall.

" _You're going to pay for that._ " Arkayna glared, " _But first;_ "

" _Please tell us you got revived with_ _ **AMNESIA!**_ " The Mysticons exclaimed fearfully.

The two Rulers of the Undead narrowed their eyes in annoyance and replied by holding hands and taking to the skies, allowing Kaos to knock the Mysticons off their feet.

"That's a ' _no'._ " He translated.

 _The Rulers of the Undead and Zarya's childhood enemy. Teaming up._ The Mysticons _never_ expected _this_ team-up. Still, they're going to beat the wings off these guys. As _always._

 _It's a shame they're not aware of the_ _ **real**_ _threat that's about to happen..._


	7. Undying Love

**Thank you Power of Dreams!**

 **Since Proxima is going to be the new Queen of the Spectral Hand, and it seams clear that Dreadbane survived the Twin Dragons, there's a possible chance that these two will team up in future episodes. Although in Dreadbane's case, unwillingly. In a** _ **mind-controlling-kind-of-way.**_

 **Anywayhereyougo!**

* * *

 _How could she let this happen?_

 _Sure she was upset that she was used as a_ _ **decoy**_ _for the_ _ **true**_ _long-lost sister of the Princess of Gemina, who was also the Dragon Mage. But she didn't want to turn to the dark side and make anyone_ _ **suffer.**_

 _When she held the mask, it_ _ **whispered**_ _to her, filling her head with lies. When she wore it, it filled her with incredible power. She was able to overpower those who dared stood in her way of revenge._

 _Yet... whenever she saw Arkayna's sad face, she felt..._ _ **guilty.**_

Proxima's thoughts were interrupted by another irritated growl from Necrafa; Ever since the evil queen's revival, and her, _'victory'_ over the Mysticons and the realm, she has been attacking Dreadbane non-stop.

Despite the many powerful attacks he received, the winged specter gave no signs of being in intense pain. He just gave a straight emotionless face. Just like he always gave ever since Proxima _accidentally_ corrupted him instead of Arkayna. _Something that did_ _ **not**_ _please the evil queen. For some strange reason._

 _Why did he chose to..._ _ **help**_ _her, the Dragon Mage?_

After one last attack, Necrafa stormed over to the rocky prison Proxima was trapped in.

" _What did you do to him?_ " The lich queen demanded angrily.

Proxima froze in fear and confusion.

" _It has been an hour long, Child, and he hasn't cried in agony ever since!_ " Necrafa angrily emphasized, " _Or even spoke back! Or showed signs of fear! Not once has he even... Not once has he even...!_ "

Necrafa hesitated. Proxima swore she saw something she _never_ expected in the evil queen's eyes; _Sadness?_

" _ **What, did, you, DO?**_ " Necrafa once more angrily repeated.

" _I... I don't know._ " Proxima fearfully admitted. _Even she didn't know the full extent of her corrupted magic,_ " _It was suppose to be the Dragon Mage. But_ _ **he**_ _got in the way._ "

Necrafa shook her fists. She spun around and screamed with rage as she blasted Dreadbane out of the lair, creating a large hole on the wall in the process.

" _ **You!**_ " Necrafa turned to one of the Spectromancers as she went after Dreadbane, " _ **Guard them!**_ "

Proxima sadly hugged her knees. She wished the Mysticons were here so that she could apologize to them.

One of the Spectromancers was blasted out of the sky by a green fireball. Two were taken down by a blue lighting-arrow. A shield knocked down another Spectromancer. The rest were taken down by a single hoop.

" _Arkayna!_ " Proxima cried with glee upon seeing the Mysticons _alive._

Em placed one of her magical gears on Proxima's prison, "You might want to back away."

Once she did, the prison exploded, freeing the Astromancer, allowing her to embrace Arkayna.

" _I'm sorry._ " She sadly apologized.

"Hey." Arkayna smiled warmly, "Sometimes sisters fight."

"But that doesn't mean they can't forgive and forget." Zarya added.

Proxima returned the smile. _They truly are the best sisters a girl could ever have._

"Wait. Where's Reggie?" Piper asked.

"Who?" Proxima asked.

" _Dreadbane._ " Em pointed out.

"With Necrafa." Proxima replied, prompting the group to go after them, "Wait. ' _Reggie_ ' is his _real_ name?"

" _He's not proud of it._ " Arkayna called back.

When they found Necrafa and Dreadbane... _Let's just say the queen and Specter did something that made everyone gape in complete shock._

* * *

Necrafa managed to land a hit on Dreadbane, knocking the Specter on his back. When he got back up, she was expecting a look of agony on his face. _Instead, he was still_ _ **emotionless.**_

 _She didn't think it would come to_ _ **this.**_ _She didn't want to go through with_ _ **this. Never**_ _after her release would she even think of doing_ _ **THIS! BUT HE ASKED FOR IT!**_

Necrafa lunged at Dreadbane. But instead of reducing him into dust, _she just hugged him._

" _Tell me you..._ _ **love me.**_ " Necrafa hesitantly whispered.

Dreadbane looked at her and replied indifferently, "What's the use? The result will be the _**same**_ as _always._ "

 _That, wasn't what she wanted to hear._ Necrafa couldn't believe what she was about to say next.

Necrafa chuckled halfheartedly, laying her head next to Dreadbane's, "Never thought I'd see the day you'd say _that._ "

Dreadbane said nothing. Proxima really did _harden_ his _heart._

 _Did... he really had a heart?_

"You never did leave my side, did you?" Necrafa reminisced, not letting go of him, "Everyone else did. Even those _pathetic Mysticons._ But not _you._ That's the one thing I actually _admired_ of you; Loyal, _until the end._ "

She said the last part with bitterness. _He_ was the reason why she lost to those _meddling_ princesses. All because she couldn't say the _one thing_ he wanted to hear.

"You were upset." He finally spoke, "I kept you waiting for too long. That's why you banished me in that prison dimension. Even after I freed you."

"It was..." Necrafa hesitated, not wanting _anyone else_ to hear, " _lonely._ So long I have to wait until I was released. The irony of it was, I couldn't stop thinking about, _you._ It was _excruciating._ Did you, never stop thinking about, _me?_ "

After a few moments of silence, Dreadbane finally replied, "Yes."

 _He_ _ **never**_ _stopped thinking about her._ That, _somehow, relieved_ her. _For some reason._

 _Now... for the,_ _ **next question.**_ _The_ _ **difficult**_ _one,_ "Did... On that day you freed me... And the night with the Spectral Dragon... What you said to me... Did you, _meant,_ _ **every**_ _word?_ "

 _Another moment of silence._ _ **Curses.**_ _Why is she getting_ _ **antsy**_ _over this? It's, not like she's expecting him to say..._

" _I don't know anymore._ "

 _Something inside Necrafa just cracked. What does it matter? She, knew he'd say that._

Necrafa lifted her head to face Dreadbane. She moved closer to him until their heads were just an inch apart.

Then, _she said the words she_ _ **never**_ _thought she'd ever say to his face..._

 _"I love you..._ _ **too.**_ _"_

For the first time since his transmutation into a Specter, Dreadbane widened his eyes, but was unprepared when Necrafa pulled him in for a _kiss...?!_

 _A kiss..._

 _She... him..._

Dreadbane didn't know why, but he soon found himself wrapping an arm around her waist and closing his eyes as he returned the kiss.

After a few _long_ moments, Necrafa hesitantly pulled away. She reached out a hand to caress his black skull, wishing she could see his expression, _**other**_ _than indifference._

She _**did**_ missed those days; When they were together, seeking revenge on those who wronged her. When, he took too long to free her, she thought... _That was a_ _ **huge**_ _mistake._

 _If only she could see that_ _ **smile**_ _again..._

Just as she was about to leave, she felt a hand touching her face, gently turning her to face Dreadbane.

The Specter still had his eyes closed. But once he opened them, Necrafa no longer saw a hint of indifference in them. Just _shock,_ and... _and..._

" _Necrafa?_ "

The moment he spoke her name, she began to melt in his touch, " _Dreadbane._ "

The Specter _smiled_ as he leaned in to her touch as well, touching his forehead to hers, " _My darling._ "

" _My_ _ **love.**_ " This time, she didn't say it with disgust.

Dreadbane lightly chuckled, " _You're mine. All mine._ "

 _You wouldn't believe_ _ **how much**_ _happy Necrafa was to hear that._

Dreadbane suddenly dipped Necrafa and pulled her in for another kiss. The two undead held each other in a loving embrace, not having even the slightest thought of letting go any time...

 _ **"YAAAAAAAGH!"**_

The two undead broke away in surprise and turned to the source; Piper was hunched over as if she just witnessed a _disturbing_ sight. The Striker realized they just blew their cover and waved sheepishly.

Arkayna tackled Necrafa and pinned her against the ground with her staff. The evil queen struggles to break free from the Dragon Mage's hold.

Zarya grabbed Dreadbane and looked at him angrily straight in the eye, " _She tried, to_ _ **DESTROY YOU!**_ "

" _And that's_ _ **NOT Nessira, REMEMBER?!**_ " Em reminded.

Dreadbane looked at the Mysticons before turning to Necrafa. The two undead locked eyes for a moment before the Specter turned back to the Ranger, _scowling._

 _"_ _ **She is to me.**_ "

Dreadbane roughly grabbed Zarya and threw her at Arkayna, knocking the Dragon Mage off Necrafa. The evil queen flew towards her lover and held his hands, looking at him with gratitude and love.

 _He is_ _ **never, ever**_ _going to leave her side,_ _ **ever**_ _again._

 _Now to deal with the Mysticons,_ _ **once and for all...**_

* * *

 **Can someone tell the Fanfiction Facilitators to add Queen Necrafa's name in the fanfiction character list? She's already been destroyed, (well not completely) and she's still not in the list.**


	8. Apocalypse part 1

_**The 4 Beasts shall reunite,**_

 _ **To return the lost light.**_

 _ **To the heroes' origins they must be unearthed,**_

 _ **Before death brings forth an apocalyptic birth.**_

 **What if the Dragon Disk reveals a new prophecy? How do you guys interpret this prophecy? What crazy challenges and adventures the Mysticons will encounter in order to fulfill this prophecy?**

 **Here's my take.**

* * *

"Nebulus! Release us this instant!" Nova Terron ordered from within the force field one of his students trapped him in, along with the other Astromancers and the families and friends of the Mysticons.

"Not to worry, Star Master." Nebulus held the Codex in his hand, "The Codex and the Mystical Beasts are in safe hands."

Behind him, the Baby Mystical Beasts were all locked up in a cage made out of the Astromancer's star magic. _And they were not happy! Especially what he did to their mommies!_

" _Lucy!_ " Piper reached out for her baby Phoenix.

"It is clear to me that you four have not taken this quest seriously." Nebulus stubbornly proclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Zarya shot back, "We've been taking care of those little guys ever since they hatched from their eggs."

"Okay. We didn't get a good start, but mostly because I was brainwashed by my anger for my brothers and sisters." Piper admitted, "But she's _**my baby!**_ "

"You're not even a Phoenix!" Nebulus retorted, "Now to hide them where Necrafa, _and you,_ will _never find them!_ "

" _No!_ " Arkayna aimed her staff at Nebulus, but the Astromancer has already disappeared along with the Beasts.

"You girls go after Nebulus." Malvaron called from the force field, "We'll find a way out of here."

Arkayna didn't have to protest. Despite Nebulus' claims, Necrafa _will_ find the Beasts. And _sooner_ if they don't act fast. The evil queen will do _anything_ in her power to capture all 4 reincarnated Beasts and spread chaos throughout the realm.

* * *

An ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the halls of the lair of the Spectral Hand, (aka; Astromancer Academy) followed by a large powerful surge of red dark magic.

Dreadbane was thrown against the wall before he picked himself up for what seem to be the _100th_ time.

 _ **"DREADBANE!"**_ Necrafa's scream can be heard throughout the entire lair.

Dreadbane sighed, again, "Coming Dear."

 _Just how much longer until they...?_

Just as he was about to return to his queen's side, he was approached by one of the Spectromancers who informed him about an important Intel concerning The Mysticons and the 4 Beasts.

"The Know-It-All Mage took off with the Beasts?" Dreadbane repeated which the Spectromancer confirmed with a nod.

" _Darling._ " Necrafa called in a rather _eerie_ sing-song voice.

 _Oh no. He knows what it means whenever she uses_ _ **that tone.**_

Hesitantly, he turned to his queen, " _Yes, Dear?_ "

" _Do me a favor and capture those_ _ **cute little critters**_ _for me._ " Necrafa calmly spoke, " _And_ _ **tear away every last shred of existence from that MEDDLING LITTLE STAR MAGE!**_ "

A wicked smile appeared on Dreadbane's black skull, " _I will return soon, my love._ "

" _ **You better!**_ " Necrafa released another surge of dark magic. This time, Dreadbane managed to stand his ground.

"You know you look more _ravishing_ when you're like _that_!" Dreadbane called before taking to the skies before the queen cried in agony and released another power surge once more.

* * *

 _What did their mommies do wrong?_

As his fellow Baby Beasts attempted to break free from their cage, Runeford watched with worry as his mommy was being beaten up by the mean mage. If only she could use her Dragon Bracer on the little dragon, then he could grow in his big beastly size and break free.

Unfortunately for him, the mean mage surrounded their cage in a large wide force field, preventing any of the Mysticons to use their bracers on their respective babies.

" _You should have left have left this to the professionals._ " Nebulus scowled at the Dragon Mage as he prepared to blast her.

Arkayna braced herself, only to find herself shielded by Proxima.

"They _**are**_ professionals." Proxima scowled back at Nebulus as she helped Arkayna up.

" _More_ professional than _we'll_ ever be." Tazma added as she blasted Nebulus but he deflected her attack.

"Don't make the same mistake we did, Nebulus!" Nova Terron exclaimed.

"I'm not!" Nebulus retorted, "I'm doing what the Astromancers would have done thousand years ago!"

" _That's exactly the mistake I'm talking about!_ " Nova retorted.

"Trust me, Nova Terron!" Nebulus insisted as he kept dodging and blocking, "The Beasts are _safer_ with me!"

" _Hello._ "

Surprised, Nebulus turned around, only to be knocked a few feet away by...

"Dreadbane!" Arkayna glared at the Specter.

"Don't worry. " Nebulus assured as he picked himself up, "There's no way...!"

To his horror, Dreadbane stabbed his sword on the force field, forcing it to dispel. The Baby Beasts hugged each other in fear, wondering what the Specter was about to do.

" _You dare stand in my way,_ _ **Demon?!**_ " Nebulus radiated with power as he levitated in front of Dreadbane, " _No force in the realm will stand in the way of my...!_ "

* * *

 _Uh... Few minutes later?_

 _"What just happened?_ " Nebulus asked in confusion when he found his back on the ground, and the tip of Dreadbane's sword pointed at him.

"You talk too much." Dreadbane remarked.

"And got your spells backfired!" Zarya, who was magically tied up with the other Mysticons, complained.

Behind them, the others were scattered on the ground, looking badly scorched by whatever hitted them.

Dreadbane sheaths his sword before turning to retrieve the Baby Beast, "Well then. We best be going. _I can't wait to introduce you to your new playmate._ "

 _"Runeford!"_

 _"Howlette!"_

 _"Gemdrop!"_

 _"Lucy!"_

With a mighty flap of his powerful wings, the Specter took to the skies and disappeared with the Baby Beasts.

" _No._ " Arkayna had to get her and sisters free. _Or else the apocalypse will emerge..._

* * *

 _They had to stay strong. Their mommies would have wanted that._ But when the Baby Beasts saw the Spectromancers scattered all over the ground, they huddled together once more in fear.

" _You shouldn't have kept us waiting._ " Necrafa scolded as she sat on her throne.

"I said I would return _soon._ " Dreadbane bowed before his queen.

Necrafa rose from her throne and looked down as she approached her lover, "You'll have to excuse your father. _He has poor timing._ "

The Baby Beasts shot up in surprise. _Father? Mommies never mentioned...!_

Dreadbane moved to embrace his queen, revealing a black and red blanket bundled in her arms. The bundle shifted a bit before it let out a small _coo._

Necrafa turned to the Baby Beasts, " _Meet your new playmates. You're going to get along,_ _ **just fine.**_ "

The Baby Beasts shivered in fear as the bundle stared at them with _glowing red eyes..._


	9. Apocalypse part 2

After scolding Nebulus and trapping him with so _many_ spells, the Mysticons and Astromancers teleported into Astromancer Academy via Arkayna's and Proxima's twin bracelets. Specifically; The Star Chamber.

When they got there, they were expecting to be attacked by a horde of Spectromancers. Instead, the entire room was filled with Spectromancers littered all over the floor.

"I hope this means Howlette and the others escaped." Zarya wondered.

"Or Necrafa isn't in a very good mood." Arkayna countered.

A small cry alerted the rescue party.

"Over there." Proxima pointed to the direction the cry came from, prompting the group to head to that direction.

The group ran through the halls of the Academy until they found themselves outside on the highest floor. They had to stay hidden behind the walls so that Necrafa and Dreadbane wouldn't spot them. Even if they had their backs turned on them.

"When you said _soon,_ I thought you meant you'd return _sooner._ " Necrafa argued.

"I believe we have different definitions of _soon,_ my queen." Dreadbane argued back.

As the two kept arguing, Arkayna saw no claw, wing nor hoof of the Baby Beasts. Now that she thought about it, the cry they heard earlier sounded...

" _I don't think that was any of the babies crying._ " Arkayna whispered out her thoughts to the others, " _It didn't have Runeford's cute, little clicks._ "

" _Yeah._ " Zarya silently agreed, " _Howlette howls, not cries._ "

" _Whenever Gemdrop cries, even when you can't hear her adorable neighs, you know something's wrong when your heart begins to ache._ " Em sadly clutches her heart.

" _Lucy..._ " Piper hesitated for a bit before smiling nervously, " _makes you not get tired?_ "

" _That explains a lot._ " Malvaron narrowed his eyes at Piper.

" _Then who-ooooooohhhh...?!_ " Tazma's eyes widened in shock, alerting the others to return back to the two undead.

A red cloud of smoke was just blown on Dreadbane's skull. As the Specter waved the smoke away, Necrafa turned, _revealing a small bundle in her arms with glowing red eyes._

"He agrees with me." Necrafa teased.

The baby began to cry, the _same_ cry the group heard _earlier_.

...

 _Wait... Necrafa's a_ _ **mother?**_

"There, there." Necrafa gently rocked her newborn child in her arms, calming him down. She gently shifted her arms so that she can look him straight in the eyes, "Soon you will bring _**chaos and destruction to the realm!**_ _Just like your mother and father._ "

The newborn happily cooed as he reached out his small, skeletal hands to touch heads with his mother.

Dreadbane was still a little upset about the little smoke trick, but when he saw his son's red glowing eyes, he couldn't help but touch his little hands, "Well. He's off to a great start."

"Our Little Apocalypse." Necrafa cooed.

The group was speechless. _So_ speechless that Nova Terron and Piper took out their spellpads and _glyphed_ their reactions to the others. (It's a good thing they set their spellpads on vibrate.)

When the others opened the glyphs, Nova Terron's message was revealed to be filled with a _lot_ of exaggerated emojis while Piper's mostly consisted of repeating patterns of " _AAHH! AWW!_ ".

" _When did_ _ **THAT HAPPEN?!**_ " Tazma exclaimed as silently as she can.

" _How could we not see the_ _ **signs?!**_ " Arkayna added.

Everyone thought back to the last battle they had against Necrafa; For some strange reason, the evil queen seem to have a glitch in her powers, causing them to activate and fluctuate against her will. Then just as she was about to destroy the Mysticons, she suddenly fainted without even making a tiny glow from her staff, allowing the Mysticons and their friends to retreat.

 _Glitch in her powers...?_

 _Sudden faint spells...?_

 _..._

 _Ohhh!_

" _Should've seen that coming._ " Zarya silently remarked.

Em recalled the last line of the prophecy and shook her head in disbelief, " _Aw no._ _ **'Death brings forth an apocalyptic birth'?!**_ "

" _Necrafa is Queen of the_ _ **Undead**_ _and I'm pretty sure '_ _ **death**_ _' and '_ _ **undead**_ _' are two_ _ **different**_ _types of dead._ " Arkayna pointed out.

" _And I thought it was just '_ _ **doom**_ _' and '_ _ **chaos**_ _' and all._ _ **NOT, AN**_ _ **ACTUAL BABY!**_ " Zarya complained.

" _I never thought they'd even go through it._ " Nova Terron shivered uncomfortably.

The next thing they knew, the group was surrounded in red energy and were brought before the Queen of the Undead.

"We were whispering too _loudly_ weren't we?" Arkayna asked.

"That, and _someone's_ senses are developing." Necrafa replied as she looked at her child with pride.

"Huh. Smart kid." Em remarked.

"He does have his father's eyes." Piper gushed.

Apocalypse let out a small burp. The next one released a large wave of dark energy that destroyed part of Astromancer Academy.

"And his mom's scream." Malvaron added in surprise.

"Look's like someone is ready for his _vitamins._ " Dreadbane grinned before snapping his fingers.

In a flash, everyone was transported to another location in Astromancer Academy. Arkayna gasped in shock upon seeing Runeford and the other Baby Beasts trapped in separate cages made out of Necrafa's dark magic. The Beasts were scattered in four corners of a magic circle.

"By the way;" Necrafa addressed Nova Terron, "You would make a _terrible_ godfather."

Nova's eyes briefly widened with horror as memories flashed before his eyes, " _I wished you didn't say that._ "

* * *

 _"You know you'd make a great godfather." Nessira teased._

 _"Just marry him already." Nova Terron talked back._

* * *

"No don't!" Piper cried as Necrafa walked towards the circle, "You can't just drag your baby in your evil plans! He'll be scared!"

To Piper's dismay, the baby gave out an excited coo as he reached his hands out for the Beasts.

"Not helping, Kid." Zarya called.

Necrafa happily hummed as she looked at her child lovingly, "You know; I never thought the prophecy would foretold _this. But I'm_ _ **glad**_ _it did._ "

"We missed you just trying to kill us." Em remarked, crept out by Necrafa's, (shudder) _motherly_ behaviour.

"And you trying to destroy _him._ " Zarya added. Dreadbane growled at her in return.

Necrafa stood in the middle of the magic circle, causing it to glow and making the Beasts roar/neigh/shriek in pain as they felt the energy drained out of them. Necrafa gave her child one last loving glance before levitating him high into the air.

Just as the baby was about to be endowed with the powers of the Beasts, someone struck Necrafa from behind with a powerful blast before levitating Apocalypse into his hands.

" _Nebulus?_ " Proxima exclaimed in surprise.

"How did you manage to survive our traps?" Tazma angrily asked.

" _This_ _ **abomination**_ _must be_ _ **destroyed**_ _for the safety of the realm!_ " Nebulus proclaimed.

Something inside Arkayna clicked. _All those years... she thought she was an_ _ **only child...**_

Arkayna let out a angry roar as she summoned her staff and sent a powerful wave of energy that dispelled Necrafa dark magic on them. Once she was on the ground, she blasted Nebulus before knocking him down to the ground and grabbed the baby.

"It's alright, Little Guy." Despite seeing the baby as her enemies' child, Arkayna didn't want him to suffer the same fate she and her sister had to go through all those years ago.

"Uh, Sis?" Zarya tapped her shoulder and pointed to Necrafa and Dreadbane.

Both undead beings were glaring at the Mysticons, a horde of Spectromancers hovering behind them.

When Arkayna turned to Apocalypse, the infant was reaching out for his mother and father.

 _Oh...!_

Now since she can't just _toss_ the baby who will bring chaos and destruction to the entire realm to her friends, she ran. That also meant she has to be chased by the Spectral Hand.

Lucky for her, the others got her back.

"Not to worry, Runeford. We'll have you out in a minute." Proxima assured as she and Tazma began to work on releasing the Baby Beasts, blasting a Spectromancer now and then.

Arkayna blasted the Spectromancers that stood in her way in order to retrieve their Prince of the Undead. Just as she could take a step further, Necrafa appeared in front of her in a puff of red smoke.

"For a Mysticon I never expected you would take someone else's child." The evil queen remarked as she sent a ballistic shriek at the Dragon Mage who managed to move out of the way just in time.

"As a mother, I see where you're going with this;" Arkayna dodge again, "You want what's best for your child. But you also have to think about the good for others."

Necrafa chuckled darkly, " _You of all people should know that I no longer have the heart for that nonsense. After all;_ _ **My heart rotted, thousand of years ago.**_ "

The two blasted each other simultaneously, their magic clashed in order to overpower the other.

With extra help from her willpower, Arkayna managed to push through, knocking Necrafa down in the process, _and upsetting the baby._

Apocalypse cried for his mother. Arkayna attempted to gently rock him in order to calm him down. Unfortunately for her, the baby glared at her and surrounded her in red dark magical energy, telepathically separating him from her.

As Arkayna struggles to break free, she was suddenly struck to the ground while Little Apocalypse levitated himself in his father's arms.

"That's my boy." Dreadbane beamed with pride before sending a powerful roar that knocked down Arkayna once again.

Just as Proxima and Tazma were about to free the Baby Beasts, they were knocked out by Dreadbane's sword. When his father stood in the center of the magic circle, Apocalypse levitated himself up, ready to _finally_ receive the power of all 4 Beasts.

The Baby Beasts cried in pain once more as they were surrounded in dark red auras. The auras shot at the center of the circle, filling the Spectral Prince with intense power.

Everyone stopped to watch only to shield their eyes from the intensity of the growing dark magic. The baby grew and grew until it was as tall as Astromancer Academy.

Finally, the light died down, and everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror at the sight of the Beast in front of them;

Twice or more the size of the Spectral Dragon, Apocalypse bore the skull of a dragon. On his shoulders were skulls of phoenixes while his gauntlets were made from the skulls of unicorns. On his chest was the skull of a wolf. From his back emerged a pair of black dragon wings and a pair of gray-feathered phoenix wings.

Apocalypse set his eyes on the ground until he spotted his first prey; _The Mysticons._

As Dreadbane helped her up, Necrafa watched with pride and glee as her child let out a mighty roar and sent a wave of black flames at the Mysticons. The Mysticons managed to evade the attack, but Necrafa knew it won't be long until they are _finished._

"Don't tell me you're about to _cry._ " Necrafa turned to her lover who was watching his boy with a sad look.

"They just grow up so fast." Dreadbane replied.

Necrafa rolled her eyes, but she couldn't wait to finally purge the realm in complete chaos and destruction.

 _And once she does, she can finally spend the rest of her eternity with her king..._


	10. Eternal Vows part 1

_**Ugh! Somebody help me! I'm cursed with too many amazing fanfictions!**_

 **(Sees entire audience staring at her and clears her throat.)**

 **In some of the previous chapters, Necrafa and Dreadbane look different than their usual designs;**

 **First of all... Let's just say the Mysticons found some crucial information about Necrafa's mask. Information they could use to help save Proxima.**

 **That information, led them to** _ **Dreadbane.**_

 **He tells them of Necrafa's past, how she used to be an Astromancer, was wrongfully accused of Dark Magic by the other Astromancers, and then her corruption into the Queen of the Undead.**

 **Once the story's finished, Proxima comes in to corrupt Arkayna, but Dreadbane, to everyone's surprise, shields her.**

 **He is merged with his vulture, turning him** **into a mindless Specter Hybrid who is completely voided of his emotions. His skull turns black, and he dons large vulture wings, and a black and gold armor. He also grew a feet taller.**

 **When Proxima unknowingly revives Necrafa, the revived queen retains her usual look. The only difference is that her mask is completely shattered, revealing her face; white skin with black markings on the edges of her eyes. Her long hair has fallen down and is now black with white and dark red highlights.**

 **And now back to our usual program.**

* * *

 _They're gone. They're finally_ _ **gone!**_

Necrafa gave out a wicked, victorious laugh that echoed throughout the entire ruined realm.

 _ **Finally! The Mysticons are GONE!**_

She should probably thank that decoy mage. _But she destroyed her as well! Along with the rest of those Mysticon followers! And the Astromancers too!_

 _And now, with the power of the last dragon, and the Dark Codex in her hands, she can finally...?!_

When Necrafa turned around, she was surprised to find Dreadbane standing before her.

"You said you were going to destroy me the moment you were done with the Mysticons." Dreadbane spoke bluntly with the same emotionless expression he had donned since Proxima corrupted him.

Necrafa was a little bit surprised by Dreadbane's bluntness but managed to reply, glaring at the Hybrid, "Yes. _Thank you for reminding me._ "

 _Finally. Her_ _ **former**_ _general will finally pay for_ _ **betraying**_ _her_ _ **twice!**_

She blasted Dreadbane, sending him flying a few feet away. He got back on his feet and stared at her with his soulless red eyes.

Necrafa paused, remembering the time she first temporarily took over Proxima and touched Dreadbane for the first time in a thousand years.

 _She wished she could touch him with her own hands...?!_

 _What was she thinking?! He's like all the rest!_

She suddenly didn't want to blow him into smithereens and lowered down her hands.

The next thing she knew, she was teleporting them to the last place she ever wanted to see.

* * *

 _She used to take them here, away from their so-called solon._

 _This was also the place where she took..._ _ **him.**_ _After he found out._

Even after all these years, the meadow behind the so-called still accursed forest was still _beautiful._

Necrafa followed the trail of luscious flowers, Dreadbane following her from behind. She traced her fingers on the bark of a tree, sensing their lifespan. It was so hard to believe that these trees still lived after a _thousand years._

"You used to take me here before." Dreadbane spoke.

 _That's the first time he spoke since they got here._

Necrafa turned to face him, "I'm surprised you remembered that. _It's a shame you couldn't remember what you promised me. Years ago. After those ungrateful Astromancers_ _ **betrayed me.**_ "

" _How could I forget?_ "

Necrafa looked at him in surprise.

"I told you I would never let you go." Dreadbane continued monotonously, "I swore to you that I will always fight by your side until the end of time itself."

Necrafa chuckled grimly, " _And yet, you have_ _ **forgotten.**_ "

"I never could." Dreadbane replied, surprising Necrafa, "You were always on my mind. Even after a thousand years, I could never forget about you."

" _Then why did you keep me waiting?_ " Necrafa demanded, " _Why couldn't you free me sooner? Why was it difficult for you to retrieve the pieces of the Codex just to set me free from that_ _ **vile, lonely prison?!**_ "

"I had to deal with the Mysticons." Dreadbane replied, unfazed by Necrafa's rage.

 _The Mysticons._ She never did expect that there would be _new_ Mysticons. _**WHY**_ _did there had to be new Mysticons?!_

 _That did explain a_ _ **lot.**_

 _But... did he_ _ **really**_ _meant what he said?_

Necrafa stared at Dreadbane who never took his soulless eyes off her.

The wind blew, carrying leaves and flowers everywhere, bringing back memories to a certain queen.

* * *

 _It was during one of their nightly secret training; The Mysticons sparred against Bane. It was a teamwork exercise. The royal guard was gaining the upper hand, amused at the team's failed attempts to defeat him._

 _He suddenly pushed Imani on top of Taizer. He gave a loud laugh when the two began arguing like a couple._

 _He looked so_ _ **cute**_ _when he laughed._

 _Then the wind blew, along with the flowers and leaves._

 _Bane managed to catch one flower, a Dragon Lotus with a beautiful mix of black and red. He admired its beauty for a moment, before giving it as a gift to..._

* * *

Necrafa snapped out of her thoughts when Dreadbane caught a flower in his hand. _A Dragon Lotus._ He brought it nearer to his face in order to have a closer look.

Necrafa had the _ridiculous_ idea that he would give it to her. _Just like the one he gave her thousand years ago._

 _Instead..._ _ **he crushed it in his hands.**_

Necrafa couldn't describe the feeling she had as she watched the crushed petals being carried by the wind.

"My punishment, your Highness." Dreadbane spoke, unaware of the _look_ on Necrafa's face.

Necrafa approached Dreadbane. Once she was an inch away from him, she demanded, " _Tell me what you told me thousand years ago. The last words of your promised to me. And the last words you told me before I sent you to that prison dimension!"_

 _Why was she being so tensed about this? She just wanted to obliterate him on the spot,_ _ **yet she couldn't! WHY?! Why does she care if he's going to say...**_

"I... don't know."

...

Something inside Necrafa just cracked.

She moved her hand towards him, only to place the palm on his chest, before she rested her head on it.

 _He feels so... cold._

She looks up, expecting him to react, instead, he still has that soulless look in his eyes. He didn't even bother to look down at her.

 _She wasn't expecting this. This wasn't like before, when she touched him while she possessed the mage._

 _He wanted to feel that warmth, the same warmth she always felt whenever they touched._

"You should destroy me now." Dreadbane spoke monotonously once more, "Isn't that what you want?"

Necrafa clutched his chest tight, speaking in a soft voice, " _I never wanted you to go._ "

For the first time, Dreadbane slightly reacted by jerking his skull a bit upwards.

" _I want you to stay with me._ " Necrafa continued, " _I... I..._ "

Necrafa was _hesitating. She was hesitating to say_ _ **that one word**_ _ **she never EVER wanted to say in a thousand years!**_

 _But then..._

" _I want you to tell me, that you..._ _ **love me.**_ " She _finally_ said it, before she looked up to him, " _Just as much as I_ _ **love you.**_ _Isn't that, what you have always felt about me?_ "

Dreadbane opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Necrafa tensed. _Don't say it. Don't say_ _ **it!**_

Dreadbane shut his jaw up and leaned closer to Necrafa. The lich-queen closed her eyes as she prepared herself for what was about to happen next.

"I don't know anymore."

...

 _That... wasn't_ _ **it.**_

Necrafa opened her eyes and tried to process what just happened. Moments later, she laid her head next to Dreadbane's skull.

" _At least..._ " She whispered with a sad smile, " _I know that I will never stop_ _ **loving you.**_ "

She shuts her eyes one more, as she failed to notice the shock on the Hybrid's skull.

Necrafa held him close remembering the night that it was just them, alone and together in the very same meadow she used to train the Mysticons in.

It was a _wonderful_ night. Which they ended, with a _k...?_

Necrafa felt something wrapped around her waist and touch the back of her head, but she didn't care. She just kept her eyes closed, trying to remember that wonderful night.

 _Why couldn't she...?_

 _"Necrafa?"_

 _..._

 _That voice..._

She opened her eyes. Once she did, she saw the smile she thought she'd never see again.

 _"Dreadbane."_

The Hybrid's smile widened as he let her caress his skull.

She brought their foreheads together. Necrafa was caught by surprise when Dreadbane suddenly dipped her.

" _Stay with me, and I will never let you go._ " Dreadbane whispered.

Necrafa sighed back, " _Stay with me, and I will always love you._ "

Dreadbane slightly chuckled, " _It's a deal._ "

The two sealed their vows with their first romantic kiss in a thousand years.

Dark energy emerged from the two Undead, spreading throughout the entire meadow.

* * *

Necrafa hummed as she picked up a withered Dragon Lotus from the ground with one hand while Dreadbane held her other hand and pressed a kiss on it.

Necrafa closed her eyes as she savored the feeling. When she opened her eyes, the wind scattered the Dragon Lotus into dust, along with the other withered plants in the now-ruined meadow.

 _Oh well. It didn't matter anymore. She still has the one being that truly made her happy._

She embraced her lover as she nestled in his arms and teleported them back to their new kingdom.

 _Little did they know, their little celebration will be rudely interrupted…_

* * *

 **I LOVE THESE TWO!**

 **I hope we get to see Necrafa's past.**


	11. Eternal Vows part 2

**You guys ever wonder what Zarya's special ability will be? This is my take... somewhere in this chapter.**

* * *

 _"Come on. Admit it."_ Necrafa teased as Dreadbane waltzed with her around the balcony of the Royal Palace.

"Really my dear." Dreadbane insisted, "You are rose in the midst of thorns compared to those twin princesses, _and their stepbrother, combined._ "

The evil queen showed her dissatisfaction by cocking an eyebrow at her lover.

"Oh, alright." Dreadbane admitted as he twirls her around, "I found the Dragon Mage, _viciously cute._ But only when she's helpless. And in uniform."

Necrafa smiled as she was dipped and placed a kiss on her lover's cheekbone, " _That's more like it._ "

The two undead beings were too lost in each other's eyes to notice the disgusted sound in the background.

After a few more moments of bliss, Dreadbane stopped and knelt before his queen, much to her shock and surprise.

" _Necrafa,_ " He began softly, not letting go of her hand, " _will you..._ "

 _"_ _ **NOOOO!**_ "

" _Yes..._ _ **What?!**_ "

 _Something was wrong with that proposal._

 _And that cowardly scream sounded_ _ **familiar...**_

Dreadbane was suddenly knocked down by a familiar orange hoop.

" _ **Couldn't you wait until we get her back?!**_ " Emerald snapped as she grabbed him by the collar.

" _What...?_ _ **How?!**_ " Necrafa couldn't believe her eyes.

 _ **The Mysticons are ALIVE?!**_

" _Please tell us you're just taking advantage of his feelings like last time_." Arkayna pleaded.

"And Dude; _Back off._ " Zarya glared at the Hybrid after what he said earlier.

She reluctantly peered into Necrafa's mind. What she saw, freaked her out, and made her grab her stepbrother's blanket, much to his protest, which she then rubbed on her face, soothing her nerves.

"Nope. It's legit." Zarya confirmed.

" _Seriously?_ " Arkayna remarked in disbelief, "The _one time_ you finally returned his feelings was when you finally _destroyed us?_ "

"I have to admit; You just can't forget the ones you love." Necrafa sighed blissfully, causing everyone to awe.

" _Please bring her back._ " Nova Terron whispered desperately to Arkayna.

 _Time to bring an old friend back._

* * *

 _I hope they did the spell right. Either they're inside her mind, or they're in_ _ **The End...**_

Guided by the light of their weapons, the Mysticons searched their way in the darkness, hoping to find something, or _someone._

Then they found _her;_ back turned, hugging her knees in despair.

" _Nessira?_ " Arkayna called.

She looked like Nessira, based on the flashbacks and what Nova Terron told them. The only difference was that she has Necrafa's long, black hair with dark red and white highlights.

" _My friends used to call me that._ " Nessira replied, not bothering to get up, " _ **Before they BETRAYED me.**_ "

"We know. We..." Arkayna stopped when Nessirachuckled darkly.

" _All these times, the only reason I couldn't be with_ _ **him,**_ _was because of_ _ **you.**_ " Nessirarose and glared at the Mysticons.

 _They didn't want to, but they_ _ **had**_ _too. They_ _ **had**_ _to convince Dreadbane (again) to help them get Nessira back._

 _They_ _ **have**_ _to succeed._

" _ **You're just like everyone else.**_ " Nessira went on, her hair moving on its own like dark tendrils, " _ **And after EVERYTHING I did for the realm.**_ "

Arkayna had to admit she felt intimidated, but she had to stay strong.

"We can't blame you." Arkayna surprised Nessira, "You were a great Astromancer, and a great friend. And they pushed you away into the darkness. No wonder you wanted to destroy the realm you swore to protect."

" _They all left me._ " Nessira sadly turned away, " _Even_ _ **him.**_ _They never even bothered to look back._ "

"But they _did._ " Zarya corrected, "The Astromancers may be _jerks_ , and the Original Mysticons were _stupid_ to listen to them, _but they never stopped trying to save you. Even if they tried to avoid you._ "

"You're their friend and sister, Nessie." Em urged, " _They want you back._ "

Nessira just scowled at the ground she was standing on, " _How could I believe that?_ "

"They _do_ want you back."

The Mysticons turned and were surprised to find Proxima inside Nessira's mind.

"Sometimes people make mistakes, but that doesn't mean they had any intentions to do so." Proxima went on, looking guilty, "Fate just has some way of putting obstacles in front of us, but that doesn't mean we should let it blind us from what is _truly_ important. We can get so caught up with our goals, that we blind ourselves on what we already have. We keep searching, and searching, losing ourselves in the process. And yet, there are those who never stop looking for us. And those who never stop _loving_ us."

Her words seem to be taking effect as Nessira turned to face her with a softened yet confused expression.

"Don't make the same mistake I did." Proxima continued, "I didn't realize I still had a family, even after my whole life was fabricated. _Yet they came back... for me._ "

When she said the last part, she smiled warmly at Arkayna who smiled back in return.

Nessira's hair fell down as she tried to process what the Astromancer said.

She thought back to the Original Mysticons; Even before they became Mysticons, they were already her friends. She would always look out for them like the big sister-figure she was, and they would do the same for her.

She remembered how shocked they were after she put on the mask. They attacked her like she was some kind of monster.

 _Yet..._ She sensed something else in their eyes; _Sadness? Guilt?_

They begged her to return to them. To be their friend again. Their sister.

In response... _She eliminated them one-by-one... until Imani was the last one standing._

When Imani was about to release the Bracer of the Heavens, she looked at her corrupted teacher and... _hesitated._

 _ **Why**_ _did she hesitate?_

 _And why did she save her_ _ **enemy**_ _in the last minute only to banish her in that prison dimension?_

Realization struck Nessira, but she was still unsure and confused.

When Proxima held out her hand for her to take...

 _She took it._

* * *

 _Was the dark kingdom she envisioned this..._ _ **dark?**_

When Nessira opened her eyes, she hugged Dread... _Bane_ in relief. But when she saw the other Astromancers, she stood in place, unsure of what to say after all those years.

 _Do they even forgive her?_

Before she could mouth an apology, Nova Terron suddenly enveloped her in a hug, followed by the other Astromancers.

At first, she didn't know how to react. But she soon returned the embrace, a _warm_ feeling resonating inside her like she never felt in thousand years.

Once they broke the embrace, Nova turned to Nessira with a forlorn look, " _I'm so sorry, Nessira. We let our pride get the better of us. You, were, and still is, one of the most powerful, most talented, selfless, wisest, and the purest of heart than we could ever be. If only we had realized that thousands of years ago... You should have been Star Master._ _And the best there is._ "

As the Astromancers dipped their head in shame, Nessira smiled, "I always did prefer the term, _'Co-Star Master'_."

Nova smiled in return before being embraced once again by Nessira, who magically pulled the other Astromancers in.

 _Finally. It's about time those guys did something right._ Bane wouldn't admit it, but _maybe,_ his _heart_ was swelling with pride.

Gawayne and Doug both tearfully embraced Choko while the Foz did his best to comfort them. The others could only watch with warm smiles at the touching reunion and reconciliation.

After a few more minutes of silent embracing, Nessira asked, "Uh Nova...? You mind...?"

Nova realized what she wants and broke away, followed by the other Astromancers. This allowed Nessira to hold hands with Bane.

Just as the two closed their eyes and were about to kiss...

"And don't you worry." Nova interrupted, "You have our _full_ approval and support."

Nessira and Bane both mumbled sheepishly which seem to _please_ the Star Master.

" _Yes!_ I mean... Not until you have fully reached atonement for your sins. Got it." He patted both on the back before being pushed away by Malvaron.

One again, the two leaned in for a kiss...

"You two sure you don't want to take this somewhere more..." Gawayne didn't get to finish as Arkayna pulled him away and trapped him inside a bubble along with everyone else.

 _Finally! Now for the fireworks..._

* * *

It was a time for celebration!

Not only for the return of the King and Queen. (Much to everyone's relief.) And not just to celebrate the reunion of the Twin Princesses.

To some people, it was a time to celebrate the return of two old friends who were lost to the dark side.

Nessira stared at her reflection on the water. Her hair had regained its vibrant red color and her skin regained its natural color. Even the sclera on her eye regained its white color.

She watched as everyone enjoyed the night; Zarya was waltzing with her stepfather, Piper was being lifted by the Pink Skulls and being passed over, Emerald was dancing with Proxima and Choko, Doug was giving Malvaron noogies, and Arkayna was waltzing with Gawayne. The step-siblings were crept out by the fact that Gawayne actually took pointers when he saw Bane dance earlier. _And can that man dance!_

Nessira turned just to find Nova Terron approaching her. Since it was a big special celebration, the Astromancers wore formal attire instead of their usual designer robes for the night, and her Co-Star Master was fiddling with the collar of his brown suit in an uncomfortable manner.

"What? Haven't worn a suit in centuries?" Nessira teased.

"You have no idea how _fitting_ these threads are." Nova remarked before softening up, "How did you managed that impressive trick?"

"Let's just say a little shadow magic doesn't always hurt everyone." Nessira replied.

Since everyone was expecting the Mysticons and the princesses to appear at the celebration at the _same time,_ Nessira managed to manipulate their shadows to take the form of their owner's Mysticon Forms and perform a feat in the sky while the real princesses appeared in the balcony along with their friends and family.

Suddenly, Nessira became impatient, "What does it take to get a dance here?"

She was responded by a familiar cough.

Soon, everyone turned to a handsome man with short brown bob-cut hair and wearing a rather dashing gray suit. The girls could only freeze in place as they gape at the sight of him. Kitty even took a picture of him on her spellpad.

"I don't remember the last time I wore something like this." Bane mused before holding out a hand for her to take, "Shall we?"

Nessira blushed before she placed her hand on top of his. She turned to the other girls and mouthed them to _back off._

Nova smiled at the couple. He then trapped himself in a magic sound-proof bubble and began pounding on the surface in protest.

 _Yeah. He still has mixed feelings about_ _ **this.**_

Nessira was on Cloud 9. Mostly because she was levitating them both in the air as they waltz.

Once more, the two leaned in for a kiss, triggering a magical reaction that caused fireworks to explode in the night sky.

 _Finally. After a thousand years, they finally have their happy ending._

 _What new adventures will be waiting for them and their friends?_

* * *

 **Who here thinks that maybe Nova Terron's Star Master was a heartless, and prideful Astromancer who would probably reveal to be still alive and become a main antagonist at some point?**

 **If something like this could happen, maybe it could happen too.**


	12. Rejection

_How could this have happened?_

Finally, she had all the four keys that will unlock the powerful chest the Mystical Beasts had hidden away from the Astromancers thousands of years ago. And once the chest was opened, the power was release, and bestowed itself on... **_Necrafa?!_**

 _This was_ ** _impossible! She_** _was suppose to gain the ultimate power!_ ** _Her!_** _The_ ** _NEW_** _Queen of The Spectral Hand! Not the_ ** _OLD_** _one!_

Proxima retaliated, only to discover that she lost **_all_** of her power. Necrafa attacked, but she wasn't the one who got hit.

 _The Mysticons did._

To her horror, when Necrafa commanded Dreadbane to turn her into bone, Arkayna shielded her from him, only to be turned to be petrified instead.

 _Why would she do_ ** _that?_** _After everything she did to her and her teammates?_

One-by-one, the other Mysticons were petrified. Once the heroes were out of the way, Necrafa caged Proxima, Nova Terron and the rest of the Mysticons' friends while she reveled in her victory with a maniacal laugh.

"You _had_ to have a party." Malvaron remarked at Gawayne.

 _Oh. And Gawayne was there too. Did I forget to mention that Proxima managed to sneak in and grab the last key all because Gawayne threw a birthday party for his ex-girlfriend to win her back?_

Proxima couldn't believe Dreadbane was just pretending to be on her side just so he can revive Necrafa. When the skeleton turned to her, she was expecting a look of scorn.

To her surprise, he looked... _guilty?_

He had the same look on his face whenever he was reminiscing about the past.

Proxima recalled the time when she told the skeleton the time she thought she was Arkayna's sister. She even admitted to him that she wished it had _lasted._ The skeleton, to her surprise, expressed his _pity_ for her.

 _Was he feeling the same thing_ ** _now?_**

Dreadbane turned away and approached Necrafa who was doing her victory flight all over the room.

"Well... That's over." He remarked with a look of indifference, "Now all that's left is to take care of one last _nuisance._ "

Necrafa stopped in mid-air, her back turned against Dreadbane.

She never forgot their agreement; Once he aided Proxima in opening the chest and released the power to revive her, _she can finally put an end to his miserable existence._

 _Oh well. Time to give that pathetic fool what he truly deserves._

Dreadbane unsheathes his sword and turned to Proxima, "It, was a _pleasure_ , _your highness._ "

Proxima thought he was going to strike her with his sword, but when he suddenly dropped his sword on the ground and gave her a respectful bow, she, along with a few others, realized what was going to happen next.

" _Bane._ " Nova called out to the skeleton.

"What does it matter, Terron?" Dreadbane shot back, "It's not like anyone would miss me when I'm gone."

" _We would._ "

Dreadbane turned to the grim looks of the Mysticons' friends. _Why would they care if their enemy is gone?_

"Was it a _lie?_ " Proxima demanded, "Everything you said to me. Was it all a _lie?_ "

"I wish I could lie when I told you that you were loved." Dreadbane replied, "Even if it was a mistake, you gave one princess hope that she didn't lose her family."

Proxima wanted to find the lie in his eyes so that she has a reason to _pulverize that_ ** _no-good, ungrateful, son of a WORM!_**

 _But she_ ** _couldn't._**

 _Even if she wasn't her sister, did she really make Arkayna that happy?_

Dreadbane waited until Necrafa landed on the ground and faced him, "Let's get this over with Necraf...?!"

Dreadbane didn't get to finish because Necrafa placed her _mouth on top of his...?!_

Everyone gaped at the scene before them. Some covered their eyes. Some covered their children's eyes. Some of them didn't want their eyes covered.

Necrafa pulled away and smiled at the gaping skeleton before forcing one of his arms around her waist while the other held onto her other hand.

As soon as Dreadbane snapped out of his trance, music was being played by the Spectromancers, and he was waltzing with Necrafa.

 _Wasn't she suppose to destroy him?_

"Oh I see where this is going." He stated as he went along with the act, "Though I'm certain _he..._ (hears sniffing on the background) got over it... (more sniffing) a thousand years..."

Dreadbane sighed in disbelief as the sniffing grew, " _Tell me he's not crying._ "

Everyone else could only watch with total awkwardness as Nova Terron shed tears of despair. Just watching the two undead beings dance brought back memories. **_Haunting_** _memories._

 _He should've won! Stupid spill!_

" _I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Pootinkle._ " Kasey apologized forlornly at the petrified form of his girlfriend as he dipped his head in guilt.

"Hey." Kitty lightly scolded her brother before turning to the petrified form of her childhood friend, "You're not the only one."

Malvaron was surprised to find Gawayne crying while looking at the petrified forms of his stepsisters.

"I know I said they can be lame," Gawayne sniffed, " _but I never wanted them to_ ** _go!_** "

"Why would they _save me?_ " Proxima asked, "I was their adversary."

"You were also a _sister_ to them." Nova pointed out. When Necrafa and Dreadbane glided pass him, he cried some more.

" _Oh grow up, Terron._ " Dreadbane rolled his eyes as he twirled Necrafa around. When he pulled her back towards him, he was surprised to find a twinkle in her eyes as she looked at him with a tantalizing smile.

Dreadbane didn't know how to react to the warm feeling building up inside of him as he returned the smile.

"Uh... Guys? Who played matchmaker to the creepy queen?" Malvaron asked, crept out by the way the two undead were smiling at each other.

" _Even after all these years, you haven't lost your touch._ " Necrafa softly complimented as they continued to waltz.

"I had..." Dreadbane remembered _two certain moments_ and secretly coughed to himself, " _some spare time._ "

Necrafa hummed, knowing what he was talking about as the music began to increase its tempo. The two quickened their paces as they followed the rhythm in perfect sync, while at the same time, never taking their eyes off each other. Necrafa wrapped her arms around Dreadbane's neck as she laid her head on his skull, much to his surprise.

"Wow. He is _smooth._ " Kitty remarked.

The others were also impressed, much to Nova's irritation.

To the Star Master's relief, the song finally ended.

 _But Dreadbane was holding Necrafa in a dipping position._

" _You...still got it._ " The skeleton spoke in between breathes.

" _You're...still better than that old crow._ " Necrafa spoke back.

"I'm standing _right here._ " Nova complained, only to duck to avoid an incoming blast.

The two remained in their current position, smiling at each other, feeling that certain special warmth surrounding them. Necrafa reached out a hand to caress Dreadbane's skull, much to his delight.

" _Stay with me, my knight in shining armor,_ " She whispered, " _and make me the happiest queen in all the realm._ "

Dreadbane couldn't believe what he just heard;

 _Necrafa... She just... How long...? When was the last time she even called him_ ** _that_** _?_

 _Finally! She_ ** _FINALLY...!_**

The captives inched closer in anticipation as the two undead beings moved their head and skull towards each other. Just as they closed their eyes in total bliss...

" _Reggie don't!_ "

Both undead stopped and turned to Nova; Dreadbane with a look of confusion, Necrafa with a look of annoyance.

"I'm the last person you would want to listen to," Nova explained, "but you know this isn't right."

Proxima hesitated,but Nova was _right;_ This is _wrong._

 _He shouldn't fall in love with_ ** _that woman._**

"Remember what you told me before." She recalled the time she found the skeleton on the roof of Astromancer Academy, reminiscing about the past, "Remember _why_ you fell in love with Necrafa in the first place."

 _Does he have to listen to what they're saying now? What does it matter anyway? He finally has Nessira's...?_

 ** _Nessira..._**

He looked down at the woman he was holding in his arms, giving him an expecting look.

Realization dawned on him, making him release her as he backed away in shock and regret, much to her confusion.

When he finally faced her again...

" _It's...not you... It's the_ ** _other you._** "

 _The..._ ** _Other... HER?!_**

The skeleton looked down in regret. _It was the Spectral Dragon all over again! He_ ** _once AGAIN_** _fell for the woman who was no longer the same one he fell in love with thousands of years ago!_

When he turned to face her once more, her eyes were filled with intense rage.

 _Well... He saw this coming._

 _After all, he requested it first._

Necrafa roughly grabbed Dreadbane by the neck, glaring at him. The skeleton waved good-bye at the captives. Some of them waved good-bye.

He closed his eyes, ready for his demise.

Then, _Necrafa roughly kisses him._

At first, he leaned in... Only to pull away in disgust. He collapsed on all fours, breathing heavily, as if Necrafa had just poisoned him.

"It can't be that bad." Kitty remarked.

She soon regretted that when Dreadbane growled at her.

Everyone watched with horror while Necrafa watched with delight as Dreadbane began to change;

Large, black wings sprouted from his back. His skull turned black and grew fangs. Even his armor turned black, with gold markings that resemble skulls. The way he towered before the captives made it look like he gray an extra feet.

Once the transformation was complete, Dreadbane let out a mighty roar before he took to the air and viciously attacked every Spectromancer on sight.

Once he had beaten up the last Spectromancer, he landed on the ground and turned his sights on Necrafa.

The newly-revived queen didn't move an inch as Dreadbane slammed her against the wall. He growled at her...before pulling her into another **_long,_** _kiss._

 _This time,_ ** _EVERYONE_** _looked away in disgust._

Once the queen and specter parted, Necrafa happily embraced Dreadbane on the chest while whispering in delight, " _That's more like it._ "

Dreadbane happily growled as he affectionaly wrapped his queen in his wings.

" _Whoa whoa WHOA!_ " Malvaron exclaimed, "All these times you were still in love with him and the only time you wanted him back was if he loved you as _evil_ you and not _other_ you?!"

Necrafa stroked Dreadbane's armor, " _Isn't that obvious?_ "

Gawayne gaped in disbelief, " _Now that's just_ ** _messed-up Lady!_** "

He had to duck to avoid an incoming blast.

" _Now where were_ ** _we?_** " Necrafa purred.

Once more, everyone looked away in disgust as the two undead rubbed heads with each other.

" _Poor Stepsisters._ " Gawayne pitied, even if his stepsisters were petrified.

Proxima sadly gazed at the petrified forms of the Mysticons. _If only she wasn't so selfish. If only she had accepted their friendship. If only she had accepted their love._

 _If only she could free them so that they can save the realm._


	13. Secret Partnership

**This chapter, along with the next 4 chapters, follows an assumed story arc by the author;**

 **The Mysticons must find a long-lost power the Mystical Beasts hid away a thousand years ago before Proxima finds it and uses it to become the most powerful being in the realm.**

 **The power was meant for the Astromancers. But the chest, along with the four keys required to open it, was hidden away until the day the Astromancers opened their hearts and prove themselves worthy of the power.**

* * *

" _"Where the ones who were worthy first stood.'_ "

Dreadbane did a double-take and realized he wasn't in the secret garden anymore.

Now that he thought about it, he did felt something cold struck his back. Now its seems he's in some kind of fortress with moving symbols scattered all over the walls.

He turned around, expecting to find the Mysticons and their friends. _And No-No Terry._

Instead, he found Tazma, an ice mage, an imp, a humanoid cat, a golem, and a mage _wearing half of Necrafa's mask._

And she was pointing her scepter at him.

"You must be the new queen." He stated bluntly.

"And you have key that will lead me to my full zenith." Proxima shot back, "Now; The rest of the riddle."

"That's it." The skeleton spoke back.

"You're bluffing." Tazma remarked.

"The Original Dragon Mage might have wiped my mind clean of that particular event, but I remembered it clearly." Dreadbane defended, " _One line. That's it._ "

It all came back to him after Nova Terron spoke the very words he _never_ expected him to say even after a thousand years;

He was on patrol on a certain area in the old Astromancer Academy. That's when he came across the Mysticons talking with the Mystical Beasts.

To his surprise, the Mystical Beasts were going to bestow the Astromancers their _mystical powers._

Luckily for him, they didn't spot him hiding behind a column.

He listened attentively as the Mystical Beasts gave the Mysticons specific instructions when the time was right; When the Astromancers proved themselves worthy, they shall reveal a clue to the mystical power.

 _To him, there was only_ _ **one**_ _Astromancer who was_ _ **worthy**_ _of that power._

Unfortunately for him, he was discovered and had his mind wiped of the encounter.

Thousand years later... _well you know._

 _And all because No-No spoke those words..._

Proxima pulled her scepter back as she pondered on those words. She turned back to the skeleton, "What else did they mention about the power?"

Dreadbane was about to reply, but then stopped, "Wait. Why am I telling you this?"

Proxima blasted Dreadbane, but the skeleton didn't even flinch.

"Oh please." He scoffs, "Necrafa did _better_ than that. You barely a worthy adversary for the Mysticons."

"Ouch." Kasha smirked while Willa snickered in amusement.

Proxima blasted them before she pointed her scepter back to Dreadbane, " _I have ways to crack that thick skull._ "

She fired a beam of dark energy at Dreadbane, but the skeleton managed to block it with his sword.

The beam reflected off the sword and back to Proxima, knocking her unconscious on the ground.

The Vexicons looked down at their Star Mistress before turning to Dreadbane.

"Can we keep you?" Mallory asked.

" _No._ " Both Tazma and Dreadbane replied simultaneously.

Dreadbane sighed in frustration; First he had to tell (and _show_ ) his life-story to the _Mysticons,_ and now _this_.

 _Can this day get any worse?_

Suddenly, Proxima's shadow began to move on its own, even though its owner was still unconscious and not moving.

It emerged from the ground like a cloud of smoke, and grew taller until it took the form of a humanoid shape. It opened its frowning mouth, and scowling eyes, revealing dark red irises on pink scleras.

" _How many more secrets have you kept from me?_ " The shadow demanded in a _familiar, feminine_ voice.

Dreadbane's own eyes widened in surprise.

 _"Necrafa?"_

Tazma couldn't believe her eyes, _nor_ her ears.

 _Necrafa was_ _ **alive!**_ _Her queen was_ _ **ALIVE!**_

She rushed to embrace her queen, only to pass through her shadowy state.

When Necrafa was approaching him, Dreadbane knew what it meant; He did leave her to be destroyed by the Royal Twins. He decided to let her be, and braced himself for his _punishment._

Instead, Necrafa walked her shadow fingers on his chest, "You're fortunate I'm in this _state. Otherwise..._ "

She passed her hand _through_ him to complete her statement.

Dreadbane was unfazed at this and replied indifferently, "Well that's a _shame_."

Necrafa disappeared in a poof and reappeared behind Dreadbane, draping one hand on his shoulder while the other moved his skull so that he could face her.

 _This, did_ _ **not**_ _please Tazma._

" _If only you had given me those rings._ " Necrafa spoke softly, stroking his chin, " _We could have ruled the realm,_ _ **together.**_ "

Dreadbane couldn't stop himself from flashing a love-sick smile at his former queen.

Tazma gritted her teeth. _**She**_ _was the one who was suppose to rule by her queen's side._

 _And what was that about_ _ **rings?!**_

Dreadbane kept smiling until he regained his senses and broke free from Necrafa's grasp by shaking his skull in protest, "Mysticon Ranger was right; _I have_ _ **got**_ _to get over you._ "

Necrafa frowned at the mention of the Mysticon's name and crossed her arms as she floated, "Last time I checked, you were willing to destroy those infernal brats. _For me._ (Sighs in disappointment) You always were the most reliable one. I wonder what happened?"

Dreadbane turned to Necrafa with a scowl, " _What, happened?_ _You_ _ **banished**_ _me to that barren_ _ **wasteland.**_ _And after_ _ **everything**_ _I did in order to ensure your freedom..._ "

" _You kept me_ _ **waiting.**_ " Necrafa shot back.

" _I had some setbacks._ " Dreadbane defended, " _Do you even realize how_ _ **difficult**_ _it was to retrieve the pieces of the Codex from a group of little girls?_ "

 _"Oh please. How's that any different from annihilating a group of servants?"_

 _"As if you never witnessed yourself defeated in humiliation by those brats."_

 _"At least they don't keep me waiting for an_ _ **eternity**_ _!"_

 _"It took me_ _ **months**_ _to free you!"_

 _"_ _ **Exactly!"**_

"Hey."

Both the skeleton and the shadow glared at Mallory after she interrupted their heated argument.

"She's waking up." The ice mage turned to Proxima who began to stir.

Dreadbane noticed how he was _close_ to Necrafa and backed away in disgust, "Let me get it straight to the point; You want me to aid the mage in retrieving the mystical power, which you would bestow on yourself so that you can finally get your revenge on the Mysticons for foiling your plans, plunge the realm in eternal darkness and destruction, and finally get rid of that _good-for-nothing nuisance_ who dared defy you and led you to your demise."

"You were always smart. _In your own pace._ " She held up a shadow hand for him to take, "So do we have a deal?"

Dreadbane continues to scowl at the shadow even as they shake hands to seal their deal.

Necrafa was about to dissolve back into the shadows when she remembered something, "And one more thing;"

"You're suppose to be _destroyed_." Tazma finished.

"Wait. So then you'd be more powerful than Proxima?" Kasha asked.

" _Are there any doubts?_ " Necrafa shot back with a glare.

The Vexicons looked at each other in agreement.

"Nah. We're good." Willa replied and zipped her mouth.

 _At least they don't have to listen to Proxima ever again. Besides; Necrafa sounds cooler._

Once Necrafa disappeared into the shadows, Proxima finally regained consciousness.

"What happened?" She asked as she rubbed her aching head.

"I've been thinking;" Dreadbane replied, "You'd make a better... a _way better powerful mage_ than that _Nova Terron._ "

This caught Proxima's attention.

"And the last thing I want is to see that _ungrateful owl_ become more powerful than he _never was._ " Dreadbane continued, "He may have proved himself worthy, but that does not changed what he _did._ And I do seem to recall the Mysticons mentioning that you have a bone to pick on him."

 _Yes. Yes she does._

"I am at you full disposal, _your highness._ " The skeleton slightly bowed at Proxima, "Of course, if you want to _risk_ your chances of achieving what is meant to be yours..."

Proxima was planning on using her scepter on him again. But there could be a _slight_ chance she'd _destroy_ him... Plus she does want her revenge...

"What else did the Beasts say?" She asked further.

Behind her, her shadow flashed a sinister smile as Dreadbane revealed more information about the mystical power that will soon be _hers._


	14. Conflicting Feelings

**Sequel to the previous chapter.**

 **A heart-to-heart conversation between two heart-broken individuals.**

* * *

 _Those ungrateful Vexicons. That shady Shadow Mage._

Proxima blasted the chest containing the mystical power in frustration. All she asked was for her _minions_ to retrieve magical water that will strengthen her magical abilities, _and then they insult her behind her back._

She blasted the chest again, but she still couldn't get another clue from it. _What did she do back then that made it reveal the clue to the first key?_

Screaming in frustration, she telaported herself to the roof of the Academy and sat down in exasperation.

 _Just how much longer until she gets what she truly deserves? And how much more of these_ _ **nuisances**_ _did she have to_ _ **endure?**_

She felt a presence behind her and pointed her staff at her would-be attacker.

Turns out, it was only Dreadbane.

Proxima groaned before scowling at the skeleton, "Where have you been? And why weren't you in the chambers when I called out for all of you?"

"I had to get away from those _nuisances_ you call _'strongest warriors'_." Dreadbane replied indifferently.

Proxima lowered down her staff, "I can't blame you. And for the record; _I never refer to them as_ _ **that**_ _. Currently._ "

She noticed the skeleton staring at the horizon and followed his gaze. To her surprise, she suddenly feels... _calm._

She suddenly forgot why she was stressed out in the first place.

Dreadbane scoffed, "The view from the old academy was better."

"It's not that bad." Proxima countered before materializing something into her hand.

Dreadbane noticed the spark of magic and turned to his... _new queen._

She held something in her hand; A bracelet. A golden bracelet with a star gem.

He had seen a jewelry like that before. With the princess...

That _look_ on her face... Just like the one Proxima was having now.

"You miss her, do you?" Dreadbane asked.

Proxima quickly made the bracelet disappear and looked away stubbornly, _"What makes you say that?"_

"Just a hunch." The skeleton replied.

 _Great. Now the skeleton knows._

She sighs in defeat, "It's difficult to forget the first person who showed you kindness and asked you to defy orders just to get to know you."

She still remembered that moments; Flying around Drake City on a griffin, eating pizzas together, staring into the starry night sky... _If only those moments lasted_ _ **forever**_ _..._

 _If only..._ _ **she**_ _had stayed as her sister..._

"I know how that feels." Dreadbane sighed, remembering the times Nessira dragged him out late at night just to train the Original Mysticons.

"Why couldn't they know? How could they have made such a foolish mistake?" Proxima scowled.

 _But deep inside, she was really sad, and hurt._

"At least they didn't _banish_ you into a desert wasteland and leave you there to rot for an eternity." Dreadbane sighed, "Sometimes you wonder _why_ you stayed by their side even after all these years. And when you finally wish to let them go, they always find a way back into your skull."

Both mage and skeleton sighed simultaneously.

Proxima looked at the skeleton. Arkayna told her that he was the _ruthless monster_ who turned their... _her,_ parents into statues.

Never has she expected such a _ruthless monster_ to be so... _in despair. All because his heart was broken by the one he came to love._

 _Just like her._

"Why did you continue to fight for Necrafa even after she banished you?" Proxima asked.

" _I didn't want to be like_ _ **them.**_ " Dreadbane slightly scowled at the memory, "Afraid, all because of a _lie_. They didn't even bother to come back for her. Unlike their successors. You're fortunate to be associated with those people."

" _What?!_ " Proxima angrily shot back, but was confused when the skeleton closed his eyes.

Dreadbane opened his eyes in confusion, "Sorry. I'm used to being _annihilated_ whenever I _disappoint_."

Proxima wasn't disappointed. She was just surprised by his statement, "What do you mean by _fortunate?_ "

Dreadbane took a deep breathe as if his answer would yield, _disapproving_ reactions, "They never stopped talking about you. They were _desperate_ to _save_ you, no matter how many times you _refused._ They even came to me to find an solution to your, _predicament._ That was one aspect I never saw in their predecessors. Even after she wore the mask, they never knew it was her. They never showed any intentions to save her. The only thing they could think of, was to _destroy_ her."

 _Destroy her._ Ever since she donned the mask, the current Mysticons never did show any intentions of _destroying her._

The last time they faced-off, the royal twins _saved_ her.

...

 _No. They lied to her. They ruined her life. Just like everyone else._

 _Do they even_ _ **really**_ _want her back?_

"If Necrafa somehow survived and is still here," Proxima failed to see the shocked look on the skeleton's face, "and she want you to once more join her side, would you _accept?_ "

"I'd say...!" Dreadbane stopped when he noticed Proxima's shadow changing form and scowling at him with her arms crossed.

 _He's surprised Proxima still doesn't sense her presence._

He coughed before he continued, "If she does _somehow survive..._ Even _if_ I do accept, _she'll destroy me. As always._ _Like she always do._ I wouldn't be surprise if _you_ would do the _same_ once you have gained the powers of the Mystical Beasts."

Proxima looked at him in confusion, "Why would I do that?"

Dreadbane briefly looked at Necrafa before replying, "I'm just another one of your _excruciating_ minions."

Proxima looked away, "So far, you're the most _decent_ one. I don't even remember the last time they showed me any _genuine_ respect. Nor gave me a _reasonable_ conversation."

 _That really surprised Dreadbane._

 _When was the last time Necrafa told him he was_ _ **"decent"?**_

 _When was the last time they had a_ _ **reasonable**_ _conversation that didn't involve her trying to destroy him?_

He slightly bowed, "Thank you, your highness."

Proxima frowned, "I prefer to _not_ be addressed in that manner."

"I don't want to compare you to that _old owl._ " Dreadbane explained.

Proxima had to agree, "Good point."

For the first time in a while, Proxima found herself _smiling_ with Dreadbane. They actually _understand_ each other.

"You should check on those... _others._ " He advised.

Proxima snapped back to reality, "Another good point. I don't trust any of them. Especially that Tazma. The last thing I want is to be over-thrown by that _wannabe_ shadow mage."

Dreadbane slightly chuckled, "I know what you mean. She always had her own agendas; Become most powerful... Plotting behind my back... Stealing the Codex to make herself even more powerful than her former teachers... I almost couldn't free Necrafa because of her."

Necrafa scowled at that new information.

 _"Help free you" ,_ _ **huh...?**_

Proxima felt an angry presence behind her and turn around, but nothing, and no one was there.

She then used her staff to summon an orb to spy on her other minions. Sure enough, _they were planning to drink the magical water for_ _ **themselves.**_

To the queen's satisfaction and amusement, the Mysticons managed to foil their plans.

"Not to be disrespectful your highness, but how could a powerful being such as yourself create such... _delinquents?_ " Dreadbane asked he watched the scene.

Proxima scowled as the Vexicons taunted the Mysticons, only to be pushed into a mud pit, " _That is what I wish to know. If only I had those keys..._ "

"Even they do manage to retrieve half of the keys, they still need to acquire the chest." Dreadbane flashed a sinister smile, "That is, _if,_ they succeed."

Proxima flashed a sinister smile of her own, "I like the way you think."

 _This skeleton really gets her._

She made the orb disappear, "I'm suddenly in the mood to try my luck on that hard-core chest again."

"Lead the way, your highness." Dreadbane gestured with his hand.

Once Proxima telaported them into the Star Chamber, she began blasting the chest again with her staff.

Unknown to her, her shadow crossed her arms and scowled at Dreadbane.

" _You did told me to be on her good side._ " The skeleton whispered.

"What?" Proxima turned around in confusion.

"It's, so _good_ I'm not in the receiving _side_ of your rage." Dreadbane fibbed, flashing a fake smile to mask his secret.

Proxima turned back to the chest, hiding the smile and small blush on her face.

 _She didn't even take note of the number of times she blasted the chest and failed._

* * *

Tazma stared at the pouch which contained the vial of magical water in her hand. She was tempted to take it out and take the power for herself, but she knew an even _greater_ power was waiting for her once she retrieves all the four keys and restore her queen to her former dark glory.

She and the Vexicons arrived at the Star Chamber, only to find Proxima laughing while she sat on her throne.

"And then..." Dreadbane chuckled, "they pushed her into a cloud... And..."

" _A-hem?_ " Tazma interrupted, unamused.

Proxima turned to her and realized her minions have returned, "Oh. You're back."

Tazma looked between her and Dreadbane. She could sense something happened between the two while they were gone. _But what?_

"Did something happen while we were gone?" Mallory smirked.

"That is none of your business." Proxima shot back.

Tazma tossed the pouch at Proxima. The queen inspected the pouch, eyeing it warily.

"How did you manage to _easily_ retrieve this from the Mysticons?" Proxima asked.

"They just gave it up." Kasha replied.

Willa chuckled, "Sissies!"

Proxima wasn't convinced. She opened the pouch and reach out to pick up its content.

To the Tazma's surprise, it _wasn't_ a vial of magical water. _But a tiny blue spherical pill?_

Proxima glared at her minions while she crushed the pill in her hand. That proved to be a mistake, because once she did, she was enveloped in blue smoke.

When the smoke dispersed, Proxima was transformed into a crying infant.

Baby Proxima stopped crying when she felt being lifted up in someone's arms. Her expression transformed into mortified shock when she found out _who_ was holding her.

"Well... this is _awkward._ " Dreadbane remarked as he stared at the embarrassed infant in his arms.

Mallory laughed along with her fellow Vexicons, "I have got to glyph this!"

"Oh look." Dreadbane held another pill in between his fingers, "Here's another."

He flicked the pill at the Vexicons and Tazma. Like Proxima, they were enveloped in blue smoke, transforming them into infants.

Dreadbane's eyes widened in surprise before he let out a heavy laugh.

As it turns out, when Tazma was a baby, she had long hair which were tied up into multiple, messy braids.

 _And can Dreadbane laugh for such a_ _ **long time.**_

"Are you done yet?" An annoyed Baby Tazma asked.

Just as Dreadbane _finally_ stopped laughing, Baby Proxima made an hourglass appeared in mid-air.

 _"No."_

At Proxima's command, Dreadbane continued to laugh, much to the dismay of Baby Tazma and the Baby Vexicons.

It got worst for Tazma; Necrafa's shadow form scowled at her and shook her head disapprovingly.

 _The Shadow Mage is failing her. If she keeps this up, there will be_ _ **consequences...**_


	15. Blossoming Relationships

**A little warning for all you Arkayna×Malvaron fans;**

 **Please don't hate me.**

* * *

 _Since when did Dreadbane became_ _ **No. 1?**_

Ever since he came along, Proxima has been consulting him about her plans and asking him for his opinions on the matter. _And leaving her and the Vexicons out of it._

Recently, Proxima left them to watch the lair while she takes a little flight outside, with _Dreadbane._ Tazma didn't mind, _until the Vexicons started to_ _ **chat.**_

The _torturous_ hours of waiting came to an end when they were called to attack the Mysticons. Tazma laughed with glee at every opponent she blasted down to their doom.

Then the reinforcements arrived.

As it turns out, Proxima was able to resurrect an army of undead skeletons. One of which was a former humanoid parrot who was a childhood enemy of Mysticon Ranger. He kidnapped her sister in exchange for one of the keys and brought her to the Ranger's ruined village. The Ranger was actually willing to give them the key, but the parrot broke his promise and decided to let Dreadbane turn her sister into bone.

Long-story-short; Their stepbrother saved them, they were winning, forcing them to retreat at Proxima's command, and they didn't get the key.

To Tazma's shock and disbelief, _Dreadbane managed to retrieve the key._

She was disgusted when Proxima, _hugged_ Dreadbane out of gratitude.

 _The Dragon Mage was right; this is_ _ **so wrong.**_

When the key glowed, Proxima thought it was filling her with power.

In reality; It was filling _Necrafa_ with enough power to break free from Proxima's shadow, but she still retained her shadowy state.

Tazma asked Proxima permission to excuse her ( _so that she can catch up to her queen_ ), but her _"so-called"_ leader forbid her due to her poor performance during their last task, and excused _Dreadbane_ instead.

When she was finally excused, she went to search for her _"real"_ queen, she found her _**hugging**_ _,_ _ **Dreadbane,**_ _out of glee._

Then...

 _She kissed him._

 _ **She... Necrafa... Kiss... DREADBANE...?!**_

When Necrafa _finally_ pulled away, Dreadbane was still in complete shock.

Necrafa just smiled, " _I forgot how_ _ **adorable**_ _you looked._ "

Dreadbane managed to smile back at her, _"I forgot... how_ _ **intoxicating**_ _you can be."_

Tazma clenched her teeth and growled internally. _And just as she was about to_ _ **incinerate that no-good pile of living calcium...!**_

Both Dreadbane's and Necrafa's eyes widened in realization. They pushed each other away in disgust and tried to spit out the taste of each other out of their mouths.

 _"Never, speak, of this,_ _ **AGAIN.**_ _"_ Necrafa glared.

 _"You were destroyed,_ _ **remember?**_ _"_ Dreadbane glared back.

Despite their animosity towards each other, Tazma sensed there was something else going between the two.

 _And she was not liking it one bit._

 _Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that Vexicons and Captain Kaos witnessed the whole thing too and gaped in complete shock._

 _Even after they showed disgust towards each other._

 _And Mallory took a picture._

Necrafa disappeared into the shadows the moment Proxima came into the room, "There you are. The next key has been located. To Cupid's Garden!"

"Cupid's Garden?" Dreadbane echoed, "What is this? A quest, or a date?"

At the mention of the last word, Proxima's eyes widened in surprise before she chuckled sheepishly, "A quest of course. It's not like it's a tourist destination for couples. That would be roman... _ridiculous!_ Yes. _Ridiculous._ "

Tazma groaned in frustration. _It's_ _ **worst**_ _than she thought._

 _This quest better not get in her nerves._

* * *

The moment the pollen were flying around them, Arkayna and Dreadbane seized fighting each other and covered their mouths and noses.

" _Just so you know; I think you're immature._ " Dreadbane spoke through his hands, trying in vain to not inhale the pollen.

" _Yeah? Well... I think you're..._ " Arkayna suddenly smiled and held Dreadbane's hands, " _Sooo adorable!_ "

Both sides stopped fighting each other only to gape in complete shock. Some held onto their breakfast.

Proxima growled as she was on the verge of snapping her staff in half.

Arkayna placed a rose in her mouth before she danced the tango with Dreadbane.

 _And her sister and stepbrother were_ _ **NOT**_ _liking it one bit._

" _Not again!_ " Piper averted her eyes away.

"' _Again'?"_ Zarya echoed then glared at her friend, " _Who was_ _ **he**_ _?_ "

" _Malvaron_." Piper replied nervously.

Zarya shrugged. But then..., " _Hey..._ "

"Go find the key." Proxima ordered her minions, " _I'll deal with this._ "

Zarya told her teammates the exact same thing. She _**had**_ to snap her sister out of it while they go look for the key.

To her surprise, Gawayne joined her, repeatedly telling her hypnotized stepsister to " _ **Snap out of it!**_ "

Based on her books about magical plants, Proxima realized she needed to extinguish the pollen in order to snap Dreadbane out of it.

 _Before he commits the greatest mistake of his undead life!_

Zarya had the same idea and shoots an arrow at the pollen floating on top of Arkayna's head.

Unfortunately for her, her sister and Dreadbane _danced_ out of the way, causing the arrow to miss.

" _Want to know what I'm thinking?_ " Dreadbane asked Arkayna teasingly as he dips her.

" _No!_ " Gawayne protested, " _No she doesn't!_ "

Proxima and Zarya repeatedly tried to blast the pollen off their heads but keep failing miserably. The two were just too quick in their steps, and dance.

"Dreadbane!" Zarya called to the skeleton as she fired another arrow, "Tell me you weren't this good thousand years ago!"

"Can't you two shoot better?!" Gawayne complained.

"Don't worry, _your majesty._ " Zarya mocked, "You can still keep your crown. There is _no way_ Arkayna's making him her king."

This remark confused Gawayne, "What does that have to do with snapping stepsister out of it?"

"If the rightful heir of the throne gets married, despite the fact that he/she has not yet come of age," Proxima pointed out, blasting but failing, "she gets to be the new ruler of the realm."

Gawayne's eyes widened in complete shock, " _That's a_ _ **THING?!**_ "

"It said so in the royal rule book." Zarya pointed out, "How could you not know that? You're the _king._ "

" _I don't read books!_ " Gawayne complained, " _Who reads books in this century?_ "

Realization struck Zarya and she flashes a teasing smile at her stepbrother, " _Aw Gawayne..._ "

" _Not one word._ " He warned _. If anyone knew, he'd never hear the end of it._

" _And there's_ _ **no way**_ _I'm calling that guy, '_ _ **stepbrother-in-law'.**_ " Gawayne added.

"That, I can agree on." Zarya shoots another arrow, but fails, _again,_ " _Arkayna! You already have a boyfriend!_ "

Arkayna just waves her off, "He'll get over me."

 _No he didn't. Nor did he take it well._

 _The others called to check on them, and he wasn't suppose to hear the conversation._

 _Poor guy._

" _Enough!_ " Proxima got between Arkayna and Dreadbane, "You know better than to fall victim to the...!"

She didn't get to finish.

Dreadbane threw his sword up and sliced a fruit off a tree. The fruit knocked Proxima unconscious.

 _Yeah. It was a really hard-cored fruit._

"Arkayna, don't even think..." Zarya didn't get to finish as Arkayna used her telekinetic powers to trap her and Gawayne in a net made out of vines, "You know Mom and Dad aren't going to approve."

" _They'll live with it!_ " Arkayna shot back before holding Dreadbane's hands once more, " _Now you were saying?_ "

Dreadbane smiled as he got down on one knee, "Arkayna, will you...?...!"

* * *

At first, she was just irritated by the fact that the _fool_ fell under the influence of such _pathetic_ flowers.

But then, the more he danced with the Dragon Mage, the more it brought back memories; memories when they would dance under the moon of the Harvest Festival, gazing into each other's eyes, trapped in their own world, _ignoring the tears of those who envied them..._

 _Those were wonderful..._

Necrafa shook those memories away. _She_ _ **had**_ _to find the third key._

But when Dreadbane got down on his knee, _in front of_ _ **Arkayna...!**_

 _She blasted the pollen._

Arkayna and Dreadbane blinked simultaneously in confusion. _What just happened?_

When they turned to face each other and realized they were holding each other's hands, they pulled away in disgust and exclaimed, " _ **Not again!**_ "

" _'Again'?!_ " Necrafa got near Dreadbane's skull and leered at him, " _Who was_ _ **she**_ _?_ "

 _"Necrafa?!"_

Necrafa suddenly forgot her anger and realized her mistake; _She just revealed herself to the Royal Twins!_

 _And their stepbrother._

"You're _alive?_ " Arkayna exclaimed in complete shock.

Zarya turned to Dreadbane, "I thought you said you got over her."

"I _did_." Dreadbane looked away, "I just... want to get this over with."

All signs of disappointment disappeared from the twins' faces.

"Oh Reggie." Arkayna empathized.

The rage in Necrafa returned as she blasted Arkayna, " _You don't dare call him_ _ **that**_ _!_ "

Necrafa cursed herself for recklessly revealing that she survived. But she knew a little bit _blackmailing_ will keep the Twin Princesses from telling a _certain someone_ about her existence.

* * *

 _The parrot and the Vexicons can handle this._

Tazma snuck out of the fight in order to search for her queen. When she found her, she hid behind a bush and watched an angry Necrafa blast the pollen off Arkayna and Dreadbane.

Tazma cringed when Necrafa demanded Dreadhane to tell her who he danced with _before Arkayna._ But then she realized her queen just revealed herself to the Mysticons.

 _And their stepbrother._

 _Wait... Why did she blast the pollen when Dreadbane was about to...?_

 _And_ _ **why**_ _did she just risk revealing herself just to ask him...?_

After Necrafa blasted Arkayna just for calling him _"Reggie",_ that's when realization struck the Shadow Mage.

 _And she was_ _ **not**_ _pleased._

 _Especially when she found out that the Mysticons got the third key._

* * *

"Forgive me your highness." Dreadbane knelt before Proxima who had her back turned to him, "It's because of my carelessness that we failed to retrieve the key."

Proxima turned to face him. She was still frowning, "It wasn't completely your fault."

"Uh, he could've, like, _helped us?_ " Mallory pointed out.

"Instead of making _googly-eyes_ with Ms. Pretty Princess." Willa added, flashing her eyes for emphasis.

"That was _your_ mistake." Proxima snapped at the Vexicons, "I had provided you with an army of skeleton warriors, and you,still failed. Lately, it's becoming so difficult to put my trust on such useless help."

"Well maybe you should start with the _double-crossing skeleton._ " Tazma pointed out.

Dreadbane glared at the Shadow Mage. _Why that little...!_

"What are you talking about?" Proxima narrowed her eyes at Tazma.

"Oh right. You absolutely have no idea that he...?!" Tazma suddenly found herself unable to say the right words from her mouth, "He's just...! He...!"

Dreadbane rose back to his feet, confused by the Shadow Mage's action. _Wasn't she suppose to rat him out?_

That's when he noticed Tazma's shadow has red eyes. _Very_ _ **familiar**_ _red eyes._

Tazma struggles to tell Proxima the truth about Dreadbane. She doesn't understand what's stopping her from doing so.

And finally...

"Danced with the Dragon Mage."

 _That's not it!_

Proxima stared at her in disbelief, "If that's the best form of accusation you can think of, I suggest you _shut, up._ _Now leave me._ "

* * *

Tazma didn't understand; Why couldn't she tell Proxima Necrafa was _alive_ and that Dreadbane was acting as the not-so-destroyed queen's double agent?

Something made her stop and then say otherwise. But _what?_

 _"You used to be the reliable one."_

Tazma turned around, only to find Necrafa's shadow form glaring at her with her arms crossed.

"How could you foolishly revealed yourself to the Mysticons?" Tazma asked incredulously.

"A _simple_ mistake." Necrafa shrugged, turning away from the mage.

"You should've just left that _fool_ mooning over the Dragon Mage." Tazma protested.

Necrafa widened her eyes. But when she turned around, she was glaring at Tazma with cold eyes, " _What does that have to do with anything?_ "

"You said it yourself;" Tazma reminded, " _A pathetic excuse for a henchman. A worthless pile of bones. And yet...!_ "

" _I'd stop there if I were you,_ _ **Mage.**_ " Necrafa warned.

" _Do you even think he's coming back for you?!_ "

...

Something inside Necrafa snapped.

* * *

 _"He's never coming back for you, Necrafa."_

* * *

Necrafa glared once more at Tazma. The Shadow Mage felt her cold eyes once more, but they radiated and even _darker_ aura.

 _"At least he never lied to me."_ Necrafa spoke darkly, " _Nor did he want the power of the Codex for himself."_

Tazma's eyes widened in fear. _She knew._

"Am I interrupting something?" Dreadbane asked when he entered the room.

Necrafa took a deep breathe. When she finally calmed down, she replied, "Nothing. I just realized this place could use a new _statue._ "

Tazma gaped in shock.

Dreadbane looked at Shadow Mage with a look of shock. He lifted his left hand, radiating with a dark, grey aura, as he approached a frightened Tazma who backed away in fear.

Unfortunately for the Shadow Mage, she suddenly found herself unable to move. She struggles, but found her arms, legs and everything else unwilling to do as she wants.

The only thing she could move was her head. And when she turned to face Dreadbane... _All of her was petrified in place._

" _That... was actually_ _ **satisfying.**_ " The skeleton smiled.

Necrafa found Dreadbane's smile actually... _cute._

She shook her head in denial and turned to the petrified form of her former ally. She never could trust those Astromancers. Even those who were formerly Astromancers.

She disappeared into the shadows just as Proxima entered the room. Her so-called successor was not surprised when Dreadbane told her that Tazma was going to betray her. She even approved the state the Shadow Mage was now in.

They lost the third key to the Mysticons, but there's still a chance to retrieve it. But first they have to get the last and final key.

Hidden within her prison of darkness, (her _temporary_ prison) Necrafa opened the palm of her hands, revealing the rare black and red dragon lotus she obtained from the Cupid's Garden. She was actually surprise to find such a rare flower in the Garden.

It's just like the flower _he_ picked for her a thousand years ago...


	16. Cursed Love

_"Maybe I shouldn't have freed you from that wasteland in the first place!"_

 _Why that son of a...!_

Necrafa angrily wandered in the caverns alone in search of the last key, but her earlier argument with Dreadbane still echoed in her head.

 _That Dreadbane... When did he become so_ _ **insufferable?**_

He used to be so _dependable._ So _trustworthy._ So _gallant._

Way before...

Necrafa shook the memory from her head. _She had to concentrate._

 _She didn't need that skeleton. Once this was all over, she'll..._

 _Get it... over with._

 _For some reason, that didn't sound right._

"Necrafa?"

Necrafa looked up, only to find Nova, Gandobi, and Quarzala in front of her.

"Great." She rolled her eyes before blasting the three Astromancers.

The three managed to dodge and hid behind a large boulder.

"Necrafa wait!" Nova called only to duck behind the boulder when she blasted again, "We just want to talk."

" _Talk._ " Necrafa echoed in a mocked-surprised tone as she fired again, "What do you want to talk about? _That I'm a_ _ **freaking shadow?!**_ "

She finally destroyed the boulder, forcing Gandobi and Quarzala to block her dark magic with their own.

"No!" Nova replied, "Okay to be honest; We were surprised when the Mysticons told us you were... _That's not it!_ "

" _That key is_ _ **mine,**_ _Nova Terron._ " Necrafa spoke darkly, " _I will not let you ruin this for me,_ _ **just like you always did!**_ "

This time, she managed to fire a more powerful blast at the Astromancers, knocking them to the ground.

" _Yes! I ruined everything for you!_ " Nova exclaimed, " _I turned sweet, sweet, Nessira into_ _ **this!**_ _You used to be fun, and happy, and a little bit clumsy... And when Reggie's around, you go 'blah-blah..._ "

"No I don't." Necrafa protested.

"She's right." Gandobi agreed, "She speaks incoherently whenever he's around."

"And one time, she turned herself into a statue." Quarzala added.

"I did _not._ " Necrafa protested again.

 _Yes she did. It was humiliating._

Necrafa turned her head away so that they won't notice the sad look in her eyes, " _What did I ever see in that worthless lug in the first place?_ "

"That's what we wanted to know." Nova could sense the sadness in her eyes, even when she tried to hide it.

Necrafa faced the Star Master once more with cold eyes, "There's no point in trying to stop me, Terron. That Mystical Power, is _mine._ "

"Nessie, don't..." Before Nova could finish, he was blasted to the walls.

" _Nessira Sundrop is_ _ **DEAD!**_ " Necrafa exploded, " _Everyone turned their backs on her, ran away, and_ _ **never bothered to look back.**_ "

Nova Terron was taken back. He never saw her _this_ angry before. Even after she became the Queen of the Undead.

He attempted to calm her down, " _He_ didn't."

Necrafa narrowed her eyes at him, " _He_ _ **did.**_ "

"Did he ran away Necrafa?" Nova countered, "Did he? And what about the Mysticons? _Your friends. Your brothers and sisters._ They never forgot that _sweet, selfless_ little mage. The only most decent being among the Astromancers. Imani sacrificed her life just so you won't get destroyed."

Necrafa wanted to ignore that remark. But then the memories of _that day..._

* * *

 _The first thing Nessira saw when she woke up was the Sun._

 _Why did it suddenly hurt her eyes?_

 _When she brought an arm to cover her eyes, she was shocked to discover that it was covered in some kind of hard, white mineral._

 _It didn't felt like metal._

 _She crawled towards the lake to look at her reflection on the water. What she saw shocked, causing her to crawl away on her back._

 _She was a_ _ **monster... A Monster!**_

 _Reggie..._

 _She turned around; the royal guard's face was filled with shock._

 _No, not Reggie..._

 _He took one step back..._

 _"_ _ **No!**_ _" Nessira raised her hand to stop him._

 _To her horror, a ray of red energy emerged from her hand and blasted Bane on the head. His helmet was knocked off as he laid motionless on the ground._

 _Nessira quickly rushed over to him and cradled his unconscious form in her lap._

 _Ever since that day, he never left her side._

 _ **Ever...**_

* * *

 _She never wanted him to end up in_ _ **that state.**_

"Were you just thinking about Reggie now?" Nova asked in confusion.

Necrafa stubbornly looks away, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"You have _that face_ whenever you think about Reggie." Nova pointed out.

"You're delusional, _Terron._ " Necrafa shot back.

"Girl, you always make _that face_ whenever you _daydream_ about _Soldier Boy._ " Quarzala sassed.

"Although right now, it looks like you saw him die." Gandobi pointed out.

Necrafa's eyes widened momentarily. She crossed her arms, "Since when did you three care about my relationships? Last time I checked, you would cry even when I say _'hi'._ "

"No we do not." Nova scowled.

Necrafa just stared at him in disbelief, "Well it's your lucky day; He doesn't want anything to do with me. _And the feeling's mutual_."

She said the last part with a mix of bitterness and sadness.

Nova studied her closely before stating, "Yep. There it is. You _miss_ him. It's written all over your face. You know it was a surprise when the Mysticons told us you tried to destroy him _thrice,_ but knowing you, the least you want to do was to slightly dent that thick skull of his."

Necrafa gritted her teeth, " _Shut it Terron._ "

"Admit it;" Terron ignored her warning, " _You're, STILL, IN LOVE, with that bonehead._ "

 _That did it..._

Necrafa angrily faced the Astromancers, " _ **Even if he did, he'll never love me the same way ever again!**_ "

Once more, Nova was taken back by Necrafa's sudden outburst.

"What are you talking about?" Gandobi asked, "It's not like you _cursed_ him."

 _Cursed..._

 _So many times, has she fooled herself... Thinking he will always be there for her... When in reality..._

A familiar blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the walls of the caverns. Necrafa's eyes widened in horror.

 _Dreadbane..._

* * *

"And then, she said she can survive even if I never existed in the first place." Dreadbane complained, "She's crazy, isn't she?"

Choko nodded and chirped in agreement.

"I just realized I've been talking to a Foz for the last 25 minutes." Dreadbane remarked.

The skeleton ran a hand on his skull in frustration.

After his heated argument with Necrafa, he went on his own to find the last key. On the way, he kept talking to himself in frustration, unaware that he just crossed paths with the Mysticons' pet Foz.

Surprisingly, Choko listened to every word he said.

"Just to be clear; I _never_ meant _everything_ I said to you in the prison dimension." He turned his skull away from the Foz, "That was Reginald talking."

Choko chirped and turned his head away from him as if he agreed.

The next thing he knew, Dreadbane found himself petting Choko. _And they're actually liking it._

They suddenly felt the whole cavern shaking. Choko leaped on Dreadbane's shoulder just as something crashed through the walls.

Dreadbane threw Choko out of the way just as something shot out from the cloud of dust and wrapped itself around the skeleton before lifting him up from the ground.

" _Well, well, well._ " A giant snake made completely out of rocks eyed the skeleton with great interest, " _You certainly changed._ "

Dreadbane recognized the snake golem, " _Ashterius_. Didn't the Astromancers destroyed you years ago?"

" _Those clueless fools!_ " The monster hissed, " _Once I was buried alive, they never bothered to look down. And they said they were superior to the Mysticons. Speaking of who, whatever happened to those little brats and that cute red-head friend of theirs?_ "

Dreadbane scowled at the snake golem, but then looked away, " _She's gone._ "

" _Aww._ " Ashterius mocked, " _Trouble in paradise? You two were so close._ "

 _Why couldn't they wait for him to be destroyed?_

Dreadbane (back then, Reginald) once aided the Mysticons and Nessira in fighting a snake golem that was terrorizing a village of pixies.

And he and Nessira... _Yeah. They_ _ **really**_ _should have_ _ **focused**_ _on fighting the snake golem._

" _Word on the ground said there are new Mysticons._ " Ashterius stated, " _It's a shame really. I was looking forward to destroying those meddling brats and suffocate them in the very ground they tried to destroyed me!_ "

A _horrible_ thought came to Dreadbane. _Should he... Oh what the heck!_

 _It's not like she'll miss him._

 _Plus she made it_ _ **perfectly clear**_ _that she_ _ **hates**_ _him._ _ **HATE HIM!**_

Dreadbane turned to Ashterius, "You know I do recall the Original Mysticons mention that you're such a low-level threat, that even _I, a mere human, previously,_ could _easily_ destroy you with one small slash from my sword."

Ashterius' eyes widened momentarily before he glared at the skeleton, " _What?_ "

"It's a shame actually." Dreadbane continued, "You waited for a thousand years to exact your revenge. But it was too late. Someone else got to them first. Someone who was more powerful than you'll _never be._ I doubt you could even destroy a mere skeleton...!"

A strange feeling coursed through Dreadbane. An _intense_ feeling he hasn't felt for a thousand years, causing him to cry in agony, his screams echoing throughout the walls of the cavern.

Enraged at the skeleton's remarks, Ashterius tightened his grip on his captive before throwing him against the wall of the caves.

Choko chirped in horror before covering his eyes with his ears.

Dreadbane didn't bother to get up. As he expected, Ashterius grabbed him once more with his tail and repeatedly knocked him on the ground.

After a few more minutes, the snake golem hissed in frustration and stopped to glare at the skeleton, " _Aren't you suppose to fight back?_ "

"Oh what's the point?" Dreadbane shot back, "It's not like anyone will miss me."

Ashterius grinned, " _Oh I see how this goes. You're a real fool you know that?_ "

"I'm aware." Dreadbane replied sullenly, "I wonder if it was my fault. I should never had backed away. But I guess I'm just another one of those fools after all."

 _He swore to himself that he would never leave Nessira's side. But when she became Necrafa, fear overtook him and he..._

 _That was the biggest mistake of his life._

 _Now this was the price he must pay for making the same mistake those Original Mysticons and the Astromancers made._

He scowled at the snake golem, " _Just get it over with._ "

 _ **"DREADBANE!"**_

 _ **...?**_

Dreadbane turned to the source of the voice and found himself staring into the eyes of Necrafa.

 _Why does she look worried?_

Before he could process this, he was suddenly struck with a _sharp, intense_ , _sensation_.

Necrafa, Choko, and the Astromancers watched in horror as Ashterius _bit... Dreadbane..._

The skeleton couldn't move. The power inside him... draining...

He was... _fading_...

Necrafa cursed herself for forgetting that one _crucial_ information about Ashterius; _He drains life force._

 _Even the_ _ **undead...**_

Ashterius stopped and smirked, before tossing the weakened skeleton aside like he was trash.

 _So this is what_ _ **death**_ _feels like._

Dreadbane's life flashed before his eyes; The day he became a royal guard, the many battles he fought alongside his fellow guards, the Original Mysticons... _Her..._

 _"Dreadbane!"_

" _Oh great._ " He groaned when he saw Necrafa in front of him, " _Hallucinations before death._ "

"No you're not!" Nova Terron's voice corrected.

When Dreadbane's vision cleared, he realized Necrafa was actually looking at him with _worried_ eyes. (And behind her, the Astromancers were holding off Ashterius the best they could.)

 _Really? She was_ _ **worried?**_

 _She finally gets to see him_ _ **destroyed.**_ _Why is she_ _ **worried?**_

" _What are you worried about?_ " He asked weakly, " _At...least...you won't have to see, my pathetic face...anymore. Isn't this...what you want...?_ "

Dreadbane was suddenly caught by surprise when Necrafa gave him a tearful kiss.

When she pulled away, her tears kept flowing, " _I never wanted you to go. I just wished... I never wanted to force you to love me._ "

She never wanted him to leave her. Nor did she wanted to... _curse_ him.

When he woke up, she was surprised that he would protect her from the Mysticons.

 _Not like earlier when he backed away from her out of fear._

At first, she was happy to have him by her side.

 _But she knew he could never_ _ **truly**_ _love her the same way he did before._

 _That's why...she_ _ **tested**_ _him..._

 _Cursed?_ Dreadbane didn't understand what she meant. _It's not like she forced him to...!_

A strange, painful sensation coursed through him. Unlike the previous one he had, he felt this one was filling him with _power._

He began to change; His skull turned black, he grew fangs, his hands sharpened into claws, and two large, black wings emerged from his back.

When the transformation was complete, he gave out a mighty roar that made the whole cavern tremble.

Necrafa was in complete awe. She never knew she was capable of this.

When Ashterius heard the roar, he stopped his attempts to suck the life forces of the Astromancers.

But before he could turn his head around, Dreadbane slammed him with incredible strength, knocking him against the walls. The newly-transformed specter landed on all fours before growling at the snake golem.

Not wanting to be defeated by a low-life being, Ashterius retaliated.

The specter and snake golem fought viciously until the roof _literally_ fell on them, burying both of them in the process.

If Necrafa had knees in her state, she would have fallen on them.

She just couldn't believe he's... _gone._

 _Her knight in shining armor. Gone._

 _She never wanted..._

Everyone was caught by surprise when a hand shot out from the pile of rocks, followed by the rest of its owner.

Dreadbane breathed heavily once he fully emerged from the rocks. To his surprise, Necrafa tackled him in a tight embrace, shedding tears of joy and relief.

" _My knight in shining armor... Don't you ever let go!_ " She exclaimed.

Dreadbane couldn't believe what he heard next. _Is she, actually...?_

 _What if..._

Necrafa felt a tight grip on her shoulders and looked up to find Dreadbane glaring at her with so much intensity, she almost didn't recognized the warrior that always looked at her with admiration.

" _Tell me what I wanted to hear._ " He demanded coldly, " _On the night of the Spectral Dragon. Those_ _ **three, simple, little, words.**_ "

 _She never saw him this cold before._

For the first time in a thousand years, Necrafa found herself, _hesitating._

She wanted to say _those words, but they just won't come out!_

She felt Dreadbane's grip on her shoulders slipping, and the specter turned his head away as if he was _planning to, leave..._

So she pulled him back, and whispered...

 _"I... will_ _ **always**_ _love you."_

"Actually that's...?" Dreadbane's eyes widened in surprise, before he was suddenly tackled into a pond.

(Yes. I forgot to mention there was a pond in the place.)

" _I love you, I love you,_ _ **I love you!**_ " Necrafa happily repeated.

Dreadbane smiled with great joy before returning the embrace. _Oh how long has he waited for her to return his love!_

"Should we make a run for it?" Gandobi sniffed at a teary-eyed Nova Terron.

"Let's, stay for two more minutes." Nova replied.

They soon regretted that when Necrafa brought them to her via her dark magic.

"Oh well." The shadow shrugged, "You'll tell anyway."

"No we won't." Nova shook his head, but then dipped it in shame. _Yes they will._

Necrafa threw them out. Moments later, they reunited with the Mysticons.

By the look on their faces, they lost the key to Proxima.

"Where have you guys been?" Em asked.

Quarzala replied, "We played matchmaker with two people we wronged in the past and got them back together."

 _That did not sound good._

Meanwhile, Proxima was shocked to find that her most trusted ally took on a new form.


	17. Love Triangle

Proxima paced around the halls of her lair, whacking her head for a way to obtain the last key from the Mysticons.

She was so close. _So, close,_ to achieving the Mystical Power that will transform her into the most powerful being in all the realm! And soon, all will...?

 _Is that humming? She told Mallory not to play around before they achieved victory._

Proxima walked faster until she approached the hummer. She stopped and gasped in shock when she realized it _wasn't Mallory... Nor was it any of her Vexicons..._

* * *

Necrafa felt she was on cloud 9. _And she had wings before._

Dreadbane's words still echoed in her head. _Followed by the words_ _ **she**_ _said after._

 _He actually did_ _ **it.**_ _He finally...!_

She was suddenly struck down by a beam of dark magic. She looked up, only to find Proxima angrily pointing her staff at her.

 _Oh lovely. She just revealed herself to the so-called queen._

"I thought you were _destroyed._ " Proxima stated angrily.

"As if it was that easy to destroy me." Necrafa pushed the tip of Proxima's staff with her finger as she rose from the ground.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Dreadbane." Proxima warned.

 _Dreadbane? Why would... Ohh..._

"Ah yes. That _traitor._ " Necrafa tried to sound as bitter as possible, "Unfortunately for me,"

Proxima gasped when Necrafa passed her hand through her. The new queen quickly back away to get rid of the cold, dark feeling in her chest.

"When did you appear?" Proxima demanded.

Necrafa placed a hand under her chin, pretending to think, "Well... A little bird told me you're on the verge on becoming the most powerful being on all the realm. _What an amusing nonsense._ "

This made Proxima's blood boil, " _I_ _ **will**_ _become the most powerful queen in all the realm._ "

Necrafa scoffed, "Oh please. You couldn't even avenge yourself and destroy those meddling twin princesses."

"I almost did." Proxima snapped back, "If I didn't have any disrespecting minions to deal,with."

"Really now?" Necrafa smirked, "If I were you... Or better yet... If I were _myself- which I am-_ I would have struck the very core of their existence."

This caught Proxima's attention, "Which is...?"

Necrafa smirked in amusement, " _Their bond._ "

And that's how Proxima decided to brainwash the Royal Guards and Arkayna into thinking she was the long-lost princess of Gemina in order to steal the last key that will bestow upon her the Mystical Powers of the 4 Beasts..

Only... Arkayna was _never brainwashed..._

* * *

 _Walking. Such a weak way to travel._

Necrafa still couldn't believe the mage thought she successfully brainwashed the eldest princess.

 _When in reality, she was being possessed by the_ _ **true**_ _queen._

She glanced at the specter walking beside her. She wanted to tell him that it was _her,_ but that would ruin the surprise she had in store for the mage.

"We should hurry your highnesses." Dreadbane advised.

"As long as you're here, we got nothing to worry about." "Arkayna" smiled, which, actually made Dreabane feel uncomfortable.

Proxima scowled at Arkayna. _Maybe that spell also scrambled her brain._

They finally entered the Stronghold. There, floating on a pedestal, was the last key.

Just as Proxima reached out to grab it, something blue shot the ground below her and prevented her from going further.

 _"I want my sister back."_

Proxima glared at the Ranger. She was momentarily surprise to find the Queen and King standing beside her, _restored to flesh and blood._

 _How was that possible? Necrafa drained the Codex completely of its power._

Necrafa secretly smiled to herself in satisfaction. _Excellent work Dreadbane._

As she planned, Proxima was distracted as she fought the Mysticons, thus, she was unable to retrieve the key.

 _But_ _ **she**_ _can._

Necrafa grabbed the key from the pedestal. She was too busy envisioning the power that will soon be hers, that she didn't take notice of the incoming attack, until _Proxima shielded her from...?_

 _Proxima...? Shielding...? Arkayna...?_

When another barrage of attacks were flying towards them, Proxima quickly levitated "Arkayna" out of the way, which led her to be caught by Dreadbane.

 _She forgot how_ _ **warm**_ _it was to be in his arms._

Dreadbane looked down at the princess in his arm and was surprised to find her smiling at him.

Yet, for some strange reason, it feels like he was holding...

His thoughts were interrupted when Proxima grabbed "Arkayna's" arm and dragged her in front of her.

The leader of the Spectral Hand grabbed the last key before summoning the chest and the other three keys.

" _ **The almighty power of the Mystical Beasts!**_ " Proxima bellowed, " _ **ALL MINE!**_ "

The Mysticons, the Astromancers and the Royal Family could only gape in complete shock as Proxima inserted the keys on the locks, causing the chest to radiate with power.

" _Try not to get too_ _ **clingy**_ _with my specter,_ _ **Sis.**_ " Proxima whispered to "Arkayna" before preparing herself to receive the power.

"Arkayna" scowled and roughly grabbed Proxima's arm, " _He's_ _ **MY**_ _specter,_ _ **Mage.**_ "

Proxima was caught by surprise when "Arkayna" flung her to the corner. The princess' eyes momentarily glowed red before she collapsed and passed out on the floor.

From her shadow, Necrafa emerged just as the chest opened, releasing the Mystical Power, and bestowing them to the shadowed queen, filling the room in a dark, red glow.

When the light died down, a new being emerged from the shadows; A woman with pale skin with black markings, long, unruly black hair with red and white highlights, and dark red irises on pink sclera. She wore black armor with skeletal designs. Two pairs of large bat-like wings emerged from her back.

 _Necrafa. Queen of the Undead. Queen of the Spectral Hand. Reborn!_

Necrafa laughed with delight as she took into the air with her new wings before tackling Dreadbane in a tight embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.

When she moved her head to face his, "You were going to leave me if I hadn't leave the princess were you?"

Dreadbane replied with a sheepish, guilty grin.

Necrafa glared. She shrugged before burying her head in his neck, "I can't blame you for that."

Proxima could only watch them with shock and disbelief, " _You... You knew... You were working for her all this time?!_ "

When Dreadbane didn't answer, she demanded, " _Dreadbane!_ _I thought you understood me! I thought we understood each other! I thought...!_ "

 _"You had a family."_

Proxima looked at the specter with confusion, " _What?_ "

Dreadbane turned to face her with a dark look in his eyes, " _You, had, a,_ _ **FAMILY!**_ _And you threw them away even after they welcomed you as one of their own! They didn't push you to the dark side._ _ **You**_ _dragged yourself to the dark side! All because they weren't your_ _ **real**_ _family and that they_ _ **inadvertently**_ _lied to you about your real family! You even have the_ _ **decency**_ _of telling me that those miscreants you call_ _ **children**_ _are the only_ _ **"true"**_ _family you have! You're no better than those ungrateful Astromancers. And I_ _ **despise everyone of those ragged ancients. Even those who WERE.**_ "

Proxima once felt something inside of her break into pieces. _Now those pieces were shattered even further._

 _Why do they hurt_ _ **more**_ _than last time?_

Necrafa gently turned Dreadbane's skull around to face her, "Better?"

"Yes." The specter replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

Necrafa's smile widened as she raised her hand and spread her dark power throughout Drake City, signaling her return.

" _It's the apocalypse!_ " Nova Terron exclaimed.

Necrafa approached him, "Not yet."

She whispered something into his ear. Nova's eyes widened in complete shock and horror.

 _"En_ _-_ _gaged...?!"_

Nova Terron's voice of despair echoed throughout the entire realm, much to Necrafa's delight.

"Now, it's the apocalypse."

* * *

 **And DONE!**

 **Whew! Gotta take a break from you guys.**


	18. Deep Inside

**A one-shot based on "Fear The Spectral Hand".**

 **Necrafa HATES Dreadbane.**

 **But what about her** _ **other self...?**_

* * *

They feared her. They scorned her. They hated her.

 _She hated them_.

The moment she displayed her powerful abilities, they were amazed. _How could someone so_ _ **young**_ _possess such_ _ **powerful**_ _talent?_

She could erect a large shield to protect the village from attacking enemies and natural calamities. She could heal the sick and make plants grow at a rapid pace. She could even turn a large boulder into diamond.

But as she grew more powerful, the more they became wary of the _dangers_ her magic might cause.

The elf who was once greeted with smiles wherever she goes, turned into the elf everyone suddenly avoided.

 _She even heard the elders sending her on a mission just to_ _ **banish**_ _her..._

 _She decided to do everyone a favor and just, leave._

She didn't know how far she walked. She was too angry at her kind for accusing her without even giving her a chance. When she turned around, her village was no longer to be seen.

She didn't do anything wrong. All she did was heal a fellow elf who was on the brink of death.

To them, _he was already dead._

 _It's as if every good she did, every life she saved, was meaningless._

She stopped at a pond and stared at her reflection on the water. She didn't realized she had walked that far. She was too busy contemplating on her misfortune and her kind's unfairness.

She knelt down to cup the water in her hands. Just as she was about to take a small drink, she heard a loud screech from above.

She looked up, only to find a large shadow heading right for her.

She quickly moved out of the way just as the shadow crash-landed a few feet from where she spotted it. The dust cleared, revealing a large gray griffon. Still laid on its back was its rider, a tall, muscular soldier with brown hair.

Seeing the man injured, she quickly rushed to him and gently took him off the griffon before settling him down on the grassy ground. She pressed her head on his chest to check if he was still breathing. To her relief, he is.

She raises her arms just above his chest and closed her eyes. A warm light emitted from her hands and bathed the fallen soldier, and his griffon, in its glow. After a few minutes, the light died down. The elven sorceress waited for the results of her healing spell.

When the soldier stirred and began to open his eyes, she quickly hid behind the trees and bushes. She didn't know why. Maybe because she had enough scorn for a while.

She watched as he regained consciousness. When he looked around, she wondered if he got a glimpse of her when he opened his eyes. When he turned his head to her hiding place, she slightly flinched.

What was she so worried about? It not like he's going to turn her away... _just like... everyone else..._

The soldier got back on his feet and mounted on his griffon. She sighed a breathe of relief knowing he never...

" _Thank you._ "

...?

She stared at the soldier in surprise just as he disappeared into the skies.

 _Did he knew?_

Why did he thank her?

He could've just left. He could've just ignored her.

He could even...

He sounded, _honest._ No one has ever thanked her like that before for a long time.

It felt... _nice._

A small blush appeared on her face as she placed both hands over her heart. For some strange reason, it seam to be beating faster than usual.

She wishes she could see him again.

...

 _But how would he react when he saw her_ _ **powers...**_ _?_

She didn't want him to be like everyone else. She didn't want him to leave. She didn't want him to think she was a danger just like how everyone else thought her to be.

If only they respected her just like before.

...

She shot her head in surprise and swore she heard a voice. She looks around, but found no signs of the soldier.

Instead, she found a strange object on the ground; A mask, perhaps?

She picks the mask up and examines it.

...

 _There it is again. It came from the mask._

It _spoke_ to her. The mask _spoke_ to her.

It's voice, cold, and dark. It whispered words of comfort to her. It sensed her tortured spirit.

The next thing she knew, she donned it on her face...

She decided to return her village. You know; To show her _friends_ her _wonderful_ discovery.

Oh how their screams were music to her ears. Just look at them panicking all because she buried the elders under trees she set on fire.

 _She wants_ _ **more.**_

To her delight, she could resurrect the dead.

Thousands, and _thousands_ of skeleton warriors at her command, leaving no survivors in their path of chaos and destruction.

With powers and an army like this, she could _take over the whole realm!_

But first, she must take care of the warrior sent to destroy her.

The warrior appeared from the skies, atop his mighty griffon. When he appeared before her...!

 _No... It can't be..._

 _It's_ _ **him...**_

She didn't want to hurt him. He wasn't like the others. _She just... couldn't..._

The mask understood. To her delight, it gave her an offer she just couldn't resist.

 _An offer that will never let him leave her side ever again…_

* * *

 **If only the elf** **'s spirit was freed from the mask and reunites with her general in the stars.**


End file.
